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Donovan wins 400th at Florida

Florida’s Erik Murphy (33) goes after a shot by Missouri’s Keion Bell in the ÿrst half of the Gators’ 83-52 victory over Missouri on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. Murphy had 15 points.
Florida’s Erik Murphy (33) goes after a shot by Missouri’s Keion Bell in the ÿrst half of the Gators’ 83-52 victory over Missouri on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. Murphy had 15 points.

— Florida center Pat Young dumped a bucket of ice water on Coach Billy Donovan in the locker room after the game, a celebratory shower for victory No. 400.

Young could have doused him at halftime.

Scottie Wilbekin had 13 points and 10 assists as the 10th-ranked Gators dominated every aspect of Saturday’s 83-52 victory over No. 17 Missouri.

“A 30-point victory against one of the best teams in the SEC, it was just us a great game for us,” Young said. “Nobody expected that. I’m sure a lot of people thought they were going to come in here and upset us. I know they thought they were going to upset us. We really wanted it.”

Donovan became the third coach in SEC history to reach 400 victories at the same school, joining Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp and LSU’s Dale Brown.

No surprise, the dean of SEC coaches credited players past and present.

“It’s always special when you have friends and family and your players and your crowd,” Donovan said. “But like I said before, all those individual things as it relates to coaching, it’s much, much more a reflection on the players I’ve had a chance to coach here. That’s really what it’s about. I don’t look at them as my wins. ... I never, ever look at those things as being something I did. It’s always a ‘we’ thing. There’s a lot of people involved.”

Just about everyone on Florida’s bench chipped in for Donovan’s 400th.

Erik Murphy scored 15 points. Kenny Boynton added 14. Young finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Will Yeguete had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 6 rebounds, and Mike Rosario had nine points.

The Gators (14-2, 4-0 SEC), who won their sixth consecutive game, clearly made another statement about being the class of the league.

ALABAMA 50, TEXAS A&M 49

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Trevor Lacey scored 14 points and hit the gamewinning jumper with 9 seconds left as Alabama overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to edge Texas A&M.

Playing the 2,500th game in program history, the Crimson Tide (11-6, 3-1 SEC) trailed 20-6 early and 26-15 at intermission, then opened the second half on a 15-2 run, with Lacey hitting two three-pointers, to lead 30-28.

The lead went back and forth, with Alex Caruso’s layup putting the Aggies (12-5, 2-2) ahead 47-45 with 1:11 left. Andrew Steele answered with a threepoint play for Alabama, but Texas A&M regained the lead on Fabyon Harris’ jumper with 19 seconds to go. After an Alabama timeout, Lacey scored for the final margin.

Texas A&M’s inbounds pass bounced off Lacey’s leg and Trevor Releford, who led Alabama with 15 points, picked it up to preserve the victory. Elston Turner’s 13 points led the Aggies.

VANDERBILT 58, SOUTH CAROLINA 51

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kyle Fuller scored 12 points and Dai-Jon Parker 11 as Vanderbilt held on down the stretch to defeat South Carolina. The Commodores (7-9, 1-3) led 45-35 with 8:35 to go after a free throw by Shelby Moats. South Carolina (11-6, 1-3) used a 14-6 run over the next six minutes to get within 51-49, but the Gamecocks got no closer. Vanderbilt went 0 for 6 from the field in the last 6:27 but made seven free throws down the stretch to stay in front. The Commodores’ leading scorer, Kedren Johnson, was held to three points, 12 fewer than his average, on 0-of-6 shooting. Brenton Williams had 16 points to lead South Carolina.

TENNESSEE 72, MISSISSIPPI STATE 57

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jarnell Stokes scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds Saturday as Tennessee defeated Mississippi State to avoid starting 0-4 in SEC competition for the first time since 1993-94. Josh Richardson added 16 points and Josh McRae had 12 points as the Volunteers (9-7, 1-3) ended a fourgame losing streak. Trae Golden had 10 points and nine assists. Jalen Steele scored 15 points, Fred Thomas had 14 and Craig Sword added 10 for Mississippi State (7-9, 2-2).

KENTUCKY 75, AUBURN 53

AUBURN, Ala. — Kyle Wiltjer scored 17 points for the second consecutive game and Kentucky held Auburn without a three-pointer. The Wildcats (12-5, 3-1 SEC) turned a five-point halftime game into a rout for their 14th consecutive victory over the Tigers (8-9, 2-2) and 28th in 29 meetings. The Tigers missed all 15 three-point attempts, making it only the third time they’ve been held without a three. It was the first since going 0 for 14 at Mississippi on March 1, 1997. Nerlens Noel made sure things weren’t much easier inside. Noel had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks . Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

GEORGIA 67, LSU 58

ATHENS, Ga.— Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 22 points, Donte’ Williams added 14 and Georgia snapped a threegame losing streak. Johnny O’Bryant finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds as LSU (9-6, 0-4 SEC) lost its fourth consecutive The Tigers committed 21 turnovers and handed out just six assists. They shot just 36 percent (18 of 50) from the field. Anthony Hickey scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Tigers. Caldwell-Pope has led Georgia (7-10, 1-3) in scoring in all but two games this season.

Sports, Pages 28 on 01/20/2013

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