S E C hand Pearl worst loss as Volunteers coach

— Alex Stepheson had 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, Mike Gerrity had 12 points and 10 assists, and Southern California routed No. 9 Tennessee 77-55 on Saturday for the Volunteers’ worst loss under Coach Bruce Pearl.

Gerrity was making his debut for Southern Cal (5-4) after transferring from Charlotte following the first semester of last season. He helped the Trojans build a 24-point lead in the second half, as Southern Cal won its third consecutive and first against a ranked team.

Scotty Hopson had 16 points to lead Tennessee (8-2), which was outrebounded 43-21 and had its four-game winning streak snapped. Melvin Goins added 10 points.

Gerrity did most of his work in the first half, handing out seven assists andgrabbing three rebounds. Dwight Lewis did his damage after the break, scoring 11 of his 21 points - including all nine during a 9-2 run that made it 59-40.

Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans.

Tennessee committed just eight turnovers, but shot a season-low 2 of 22 (9.1 percent) from beyond the threepoint line. The Vols entered the week eighth in the nation in scoring offense (85.0 points per game) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (43.4 percent).

NO. 3 KENTUCKY 90, AUSTIN PEAY 69

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Patrick Patterson scored 21 points, including nine during a decisive second-half run, and No. 3 Kentucky beat Austin Peay.

John Wall added 17 points and six assists while DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats (11-0), who moved within one victory of becoming the first college basketball program to reach 2,000.

Wesley Channels led the Govs (7-5) with 21 points but Austin Peay couldn’t keep up once Patterson got going. Thejunior forward took control during a 12-0 run midway through the second half that gave Kentucky an 82-61 lead.

The victory pushed Kentucky Coach John Calipari past Adolph Rupp in the school record books for the best start by a first-year head coach. Rupp won his first 10 games in 1931.

Kentucky will go for its 2,000th victory Monday against Drexel.

NO. 17 KANSAS STATE 87, ALABAMA 74

MOBILE, Ala. - Jacob Pullen hit six three-pointers and scored a season-high 30 points, leading No. 17 Kansas State over Alabama.

The Wildcats (10-1) dominated most of the game, shrugging off the Crimson Tide’s only second-half rally after building an 18-point halftime lead against a team guided by Coach Frank Martin’s high school teammate and longtime friend, Anthony Grant.

The two clasped hands and embraced as the final seconds ticked off.

Wally Judge added 15 points for Kansas State, which has won seven in a row for the first time in Martin’s two-plus seasons. Pullen’s previous season-best was a 28-point performance last weekend against UNLV, when he hit seven three-pointers.

Mikhail Torrance led Alabama with 20 points and JaMychal Green added 17 before fouling out with 5:26 left.

NO. 20 MISSISSIPPI 108, CENTENARY 64

OXFORD, Miss. - Terrico White scored 17 points, Eniel Polynice added 13 and No. 20 Mississippi dominated Centenary.

The Rebels (10-1) won their sixth consecutive by blitzing the Gents (4-6) early, building a 24-2 lead to start the game, then maintaining focus throughout their most lopsided victory of the season.

Ole Miss shot 67.7 percent from the field, by far their best shooting percentage of the season, and dominated in the paint with a 50-28 advantage over Centenary, a Summit League school that plans to drop to Division III next season.

It was the first time this season the Rebels surpassed 100 points.

Jerrald Bonham had 19 points for Centenary and Matt Marseille added 15.

LSU 65, RICE 61

BATON ROUGE - Bo Spencer scored 22 points, including two important free throws in the final minute, to lead LSU past Rice.

A goaltending call on a shot by Eddie Ludwig put the Tigers ahead 57-52 in the second half. After Tamir Jackson hit a jumper for the Owls, Spencer made a field goal for LSU (8-2).

Ludwig hit two free throws with 57 seconds to play to give the Tigers a61-54 lead. After Lawrence Ghoram knocked down a three-pointer, Spencer made two free throws with 38 seconds left. One free throw by both Chris Bass and Aaron Dotson clinched the victory.

Spencer was 8 for 16 from the field, including 4 for 10 on three-pointers. Tasmin Mitchell had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Storm Warren added 11 points, while Dotson had 10.

Jackson led Rice (5-5) with a season-high 19 points - 12 in the second half.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 70, HOUSTON 64

HOUSTON - Jarvis Varnado, who entered the day leading the nation in blocks this season, added five more to help Mississippi State to its sixth consecutive victory.

Varnado also grabbed 17 rebounds and scored 13 points while raising his total blocked shots this year to 58.

The game was tied at 64 with less than 40 seconds to go when Barry Stewart hit a jumper for the lead for the Bulldogs (9-2). He finished with 14 points.

The Cougars (5-3) did not score after that, with Mississippi State’s Ravern Johnson and Varnado each hitting two free throws to widen the lead in the final seconds.

Johnson and Dee Bost each scored 15 points for the Bulldogs.

Aubrey Coleman grabbed 12 rebounds for the Cougars and led the game in scoring with 28 points. Teammate Kelvin Lewis, who led the game with four three-pointers, finished with 18 points.

VANDERBILT 84, TENNESSEE STATE 71

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jeffery Taylor scored 20 points to lead Vanderbilt past Tennessee State.

The Commodores (7-3) dominated in the paint, outscoring Tennessee State 58-18. They shot 79.2 percent from the field (19 of 24) in the second half to finish at 67.9 percent (36 of 53).

Vanderbilt ended the first half on a 20-7 run when A.J. Ogilvy tipped in John Jenkins’ missed three-pointer as time expired to give the Commodores a 43-25 advantage.

Though Vanderbilt committed 21 turnovers, Tennessee State (3-9) trailed by as many as 24 points and never got closer than 13 in the second half.

Jenkins scored 12 points, Ogilvy had 11 and Festus Ezeli added 10. Jermaine Beal had seven assists for the Commodores, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Jacquan Nobles and Josh Sain each had 14, Robert Covington added 13 and Lonnie Funderburke scored 12 for Tennessee State.

Sports, Pages 30 on 12/20/2009

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