Murphy’s offense, defense give Gators boost

— Florida finally faced a little competition in the SEC.

Just a little, though.

Erik Murphy scored 19 points and was instrumental on the defensive end, helping the No. 4 Gators beat 16thranked and short-handed Mississippi 78-64 Saturday night.

Murphy made 7 of 8 shots, including 5 of 6 from three point range, and added 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Defensively, he took a charge, had a steal, blocked two shots and altered several more.

It was easily his most complete game in four seasons.

“It’s something I’m always trying to get better at,” Murphy said of his defense. “It’s something that I’m working on all the time with the coaching staff. With my lack of athleticism and foot speed, I’ve got to be smarter than most people defensively. I’ve got to use my basketball IQ and justtry to play smarter.”

Pat Young added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Gators (18-2, 8-0 SEC), who won their 10th consecutive game. Mike Rosario scored 14 points and Scottie Wilbekin 13.

Kenny Boynton had nine points and 10 assists. Boynton and Wilbekin had a combined 17 assists and four turnovers, one of the biggest differences in the game.

Their defense was right up there, too.

“This is my seventh Florida team to play. One of those was the national championship team that had NBA lottery picks on it,” Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy said. “I don’t even remember a Florida team guarding with that intensity. I was really impressed with the way they defended.”

Marshall Henderson, the SEC’s leading scorer, led the Rebels (17-4, 6-2) with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Henderson was 7 of 11 from behind the arc, hitting several shots with defenders in his face.

“I think they will contend for the national championship,” Henderson said of the Gators. “We have seen how they have been blowing people out. They executed perfectly. ... I see them being No. 1 the country by the end of the season.” NO. 17 MISSOURI 91, AUBURN 77

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Keion Bell scored 24 points and Earnest Ross added 23, both season highs, as No. 17 Missouri used another strong second half to beat Auburn.

The teams had a combined 49 fouls and 69 free throws but the slogging pace didn’t seem to affect Missouri (16-5, 5-3), which shot 54.5 percent from the floor after shooting 38 percent in a 73-70 loss at LSU on Wednesday.

Frankie Sullivan led Auburn (8-13, 2-6) with 12 points, while Rob Chubb and Chris Denson each had 10.

KENTUCKY 72, TEXAS A&M 68, OT

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Freshman Nerlens Noel had a season-high 19 points and Julius Mays scored 19, including five in overtime, to lead Kentucky past Texas A&M.

The Wildcats (15-6, 6-2) led by one point before Mays made two free throws with 15 seconds left. Texas A&M (13-8, 3-5) had a chance to tie it after that, but Elston Turner’s three-pointer bounced off the rim with victory seconds left. Mays added another free throw with a second left to secure the victory.

Turner’s 21 points led the Aggies.

Fabyon Harris added 14 points and Ray Turner had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Texas A&M.

Noel, who had a school record 12 blocks in Kentucky’s last game, also had 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

ALABAMA 58, VANDERBILT 54

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Trevor Lacey hit a three-pointer with 56.8 seconds left, giving Alabama (14-7, 6-2) its first lead of the game, and the Crimson Tide wound up edging Vanderbilt (8-12, 2-6) for their first victory at Memorial Gym since 1990.

Alabama rallied despite hitting only one field goal after Andrew Steele’s three pointer with 5:57 left, and the Tide won for the sixth time in seven games, finishing on an 18-3 run.

Lacey had a game-high 17 points.

Steele added 13 points off the bench, and Rodney Cooper had 11.

Vanderbilt didn’t hit a field goal after Kyle Fuller’s three-pointer with 7:10 left. Kedren Johnson had 15 points and Fuller 13.

LSU 69, MISSISSIPPI ST. 68

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Anthony Hickey hit a game-winning shot with 1.4 seconds remaining as LSU rallied to beat Mississippi State.

LSU (12-7, 3-5) trailed for nearly the entire game, including a 40-26 deficit at halftime. But the Tigers methodically came back in the second half. Hickey and Johnny O’Bryant led the Tigers with 12 points each. Hickey scored seven of his 12 points in the final 46.7 seconds.

Mississippi State (7-13, 2-6) has lost six consecutive. Gavin Ware led the Bulldogs with 14 points.

GEORGIA 67, SOUTH CAROLINA 56

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 19 points and Georgia won its third consecutive SEC game for just the second time in Coach Mark Fox’s four seasons.

The Bulldogs (10-11, 4-4) trailed 30-29 at the half, but began the final period with a 17-8 run to take control. Georgia freshman Kenny Gaines scored nine of his 11 points in that stretch. He got things going with two baskets to start the second half. When he hit a three-pointer seven minutes later, the Bulldogs were ahead 46-38.

Caldwell-Pope, the SEC’s second leading scorer, increased Georgia’s margin to 59-49 with 4:31 to play.

Michael Carrera led South Carolina (12-9, 2-6) with 16 points. South Carolina’s leading scorer, Brenton Williams, was held to two points on 1-of-4 shooting.

SATURDAY’S GAMES Arkansas 73, Tennessee 60 Missouri 91, Auburn 77 Georgia 67, South Carolina 56 Alabama 58, Vanderbilt 54 LSU 69, Mississippi State 68 Kentucky 72, Texas A&M 68, OT Florida 78, Mississippi 64

Sports, Pages 28 on 02/03/2013

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