COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri Coach Frank Haith said injured senior Laurence Bowers could have played Saturday if the 22nd-ranked Tigers needed him.
They didn’t.
Jabari Brown scored 21 points, Alex Oriakhi tied a career high with 18 and Missouri cruised to an 81-59 victory over Vanderbilt.
Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC) led 49-20 at halftime thanks to a 32-2 run spanning 11:47. After going 11 of 51 on three-point attempts their past two games, the Tigers hit 11 of 21 Saturday - including eight in the first half for a rare fast start.
Brown has scored at least 10 points in nine of his 10 games with the Tigers, and he leads the team in conference play with 17.3 points per game. He entered the day leading the SEC with 3.2 three-pointers per game, and shot 4 of 8 from behind the arc.
“I definitely feel like I’m getting more comfortable out there,” Brown said. “It’s a learning process. I’m just learning something from every game and moving forward.”
Oriakhi’s 12 rebounds, including six offensive, helped give Missouri a 40-18 rebounding advantage, including 24-7 in the first half. With Bowers missing his fifth consecutive game because of a sprained ligament in his right knee, Haith said the past few games have been “healthy” for Oriakhi to be the go-to guy.
“Whenever our guards miss shots, I feel I clean it up,” Oriakhi said. “Offensive rebounding, I feel that’s my best offense.”
A 6-9, 255-pound senior transfer from Connecticut, Oriakhi made 15 consecutive free throws spanning three games before missing his final attempt Saturday.
Rod Odom matched a career high with 17 points for Vanderbilt (8-10, 2-4).
“There’s not a whole lot to say about this going wrong or that going wrong,” Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings said. “They were much better and much faster. They shot better, rebounded way better. Every facet they whooped us.”
The Commodores scored the first eight points of the second half and later narrowed the deficit to 56-39 with 14:39 remaining, but got no closer.
The teams traded points through the opening five minutes, prompting Haith to take off his jacket in frustration. But after a dunk by Sheldon Jeter gave the Commodores an 11-8 lead with 15:25 left in the first half, Missouri scored 32 of the next 34 points.
KENTUCKY 75, LSU 70
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Alex Poythress scored 20 points, including two free throws with one second remaining, as Kentucky topped LSU.
Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) added 15 points, Ryan Harrow 11 and Nerlens Noel 10 and six blocks as the Wildcats (13-6, 4-2 SEC) recovered from Tuesday’s loss at Alabama.
Poythress also grabbed 12 rebounds to help seal Kentucky’s victory.
The Wildcats led by as many as 15 points before halftime and were up 69-63 with 1:57 remaining before LSU rallied within 71-70 on Johnny O’Bryant III’s follow with 3.9 seconds left. Kyle Wiltjer made two free throws to put Kentucky up by three and Poythress clinched it with two more after rebounding Anthony Hickey’s missed front end of a 1-an-1.
Kentucky shot 52 percent (27 of 52) and out rebounded LSU 39-26.
O’Bryant had 21 points for the Tigers (10-7, 1-5), who lost to the Wildcats for the fifth consecutive time.
GEORGIA 59, TEXAS A&M 52
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 22 points to lead Georgia over slumping Texas A&M in their first-ever meeting.
Sherrard Brantley had two three-pointers during a 16-2 run by the Bulldogs to start the second half, giving Georgia its biggest lead.
The Bulldogs had to fight off a late rally by Texas A&M for the victory. Texas A&M cut it to three points with a minute left on a layup by Kourtney Roberson, but the Bulldogs scored the last four points of the game to secure the victory.
Georgia (8-11, 2-4 SEC) got back on track after a loss to No. 8 Florida. The Aggies extended their losing streak to a season-long four games.
Elston Turner’s 19 points led Texas A&M (12-7, 2-4).
TENNESSEE 54, ALABAMA 53
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After being shut out for nearly the entire first half, Jordan McRae scored 17 points and made a driving basket with just under a minute left as Tennessee erased a 10-point deficit to beat Alabama.
McRae was held scoreless until the final three seconds of the first half, but he heated up in the second half and broke a 50-50 tie with just under a minute left. The Volunteers (10-8, 2-4 SEC) led 54-50 before Trevor Releford hit a three-pointer with 18.5 seconds remaining.
Jarnell Stokes had 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for Tennessee.
NO. 8 FLORIDA 82, MISSISSIPPI STATE 47
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy each scored 18 points, Patric Young and Scottie Wilbekin added 13 and No. 8 Florida past Mississippi State.
The Gators (16-2, 6-0 SEC) have won eight consecutive and were never challenged in this one, bolting out to a 20-6 lead in less than eight minutes and a 41-19 advantage by halftime.
Florida hit a season-high 14 three pointers, including four each by Boynton and Murphy. Boynton finished 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 8 from three point range. The Gators shot 31 of 56 (55.4 percent) from the field.
Fred Thomas led Mississippi State (7-11, 2-4) with 19 points. Colin Borchert and Gavin Ware both added 10. The Bulldogs have lost four consecutive.
NO. 23 MISSISSIPPI 63, AUBURN 61
AUBURN, Ala. - Marshall Henderson scored 15 points and made the game winning free throws with seven seconds remaining to lift No. 23 Mississippi over Auburn.
Henderson went to the line with the score tied after an off-the-ball foul was called on Shaq Johnson as Ole Miss (17-2, 6-0 SEC) was inbounding under its own basket. Frankie Sullivan’s last second heave for Auburn was off the mark, and the Rebels escaped.
LaDarius White led Ole Miss with 17 points and Jarvis Summers added 14.
Chris Denson had 18 points for Auburn (8-11, 2-4).
SATURDAY’S GAMES
South Carolina 75, Arkansas 54 Tennessee 54, Alabama 53 Kentucky 75, LSU 70 Missouri 81, Vanderbilt 59 Georgia 59, Texas A&M 52 Mississippi 63, Auburn 61 Florida 82, Mississippi State 47
Sports, Pages 26 on 01/27/2013