Florida locks up 18-0 SEC record

Florida players (from left) Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather, Patric Young and Will Yeguete celebrate the Gators’ perfect SEC record after defeating No. 25 Kentucky 84-65 on Saturday.

Florida players (from left) Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather, Patric Young and Will Yeguete celebrate the Gators’ perfect SEC record after defeating No. 25 Kentucky 84-65 on Saturday.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Patric Young scored 18 points in his final home game and No. 1 Florida routed 25th-ranked Kentucky 84-65 on Saturday, becoming the first team to go 18-0 in SEC play.

Fellow seniors Casey Prather (15) and Scottie Wilbekin (13) also reached double figures for the Gators (29-2, 18-0), who have won 23 consecutive games and 32 in a row at home.

Coach Billy Donovan called timeout with 36.9 seconds remaining to get his four seniors another standing ovation.

Young, Prather, Wilbekin and fellow starter Will Yeguete have won 113 games in four seasons.

“Those guys answered the bell,” Donovan said. “For me as a coach, it’s the greatest regular season I’ve ever been a part of.”

The latest one seemed a lock early but was in doubt for a while in the second half.

Julius Randle, who had his right knee treated during the first half, led the Wildcats (22-9, 12-6) with 16 points and 10 rebounds. James Young added 14 points, and Aaron Harrison chipped in 10.

The Gators were up 22 after Dorian Finney-Smith’s third three-pointer of the half and led 49-28.

The Wildcats opened the second half by pounding the ball inside, getting Randle more involved.

Kentucky outscored Florida 15-0 run to cut the lead to 53-47, quieting the arena and giving the Wildcats confidence they could pull off the upset.

Kentucky Coach John Calipari praised his team for making a game of it.

“We took the fight to them a little bit,” Calipari said. “All of a sudden we take the worst shots we’ve taken all season.Like, you’ve got to be kidding me. But that’s what freshmen do.”

But Wilbekin responded with a three-pointer with 12 minutes remaining. Prather followed with several driving layups, none bigger than the one that turned into a three point play and pushed the lead back to 17.

Florida coasted from there, and shortly after the final horn, Young announced to the crowd that they would cut down the nets. The Gators opted not to do that after they clinched the SEC regular-season title last week, but wanted to do it Saturday.

Calipari said Florida is every bit as good as its record.

“They are that good,” Calipari said of the Gators. “And if you don’t come and play, you’re going to get smashed.”

TENNESSEE 72, MISSOURI 45

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Antonio Barton scored 16 points and Jarnell Stokes had a double-double as Tennessee trounced Missouri to win its fourth consecutive game and clinch the No. 4 seed and a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.

Tennessee (20-11, 11-7 SEC) hasn’t trailed at any point during its winning streak. Its last three games have been decided by an average margin of 31 points, boosting its NCAA tournament hopes.

Barton shot 4 of 7 from 3-point range against Missouri and has now gone 13 of 22 from behind the arc over his last three games. Stokes had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan McRae added 11 points.

Jordan Clarkson had 13 points for Missouri (21-10, 9-9) which fell to the eighth seed.

GEORGIA 69, LSU 61

BATON ROUGE - Charles Mann had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Georgia defeated LSU in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday.

Kenny Gaines made six of seven 3-pointers he attempted and finished with 20 points for the Bulldogs (18-12, 12-6 SEC), who’ll be the third seed in next week’s SEC tournament after finishing with four victories in their last five games.

Senior guard Andre Stringer led LSU (18-12, 9-9) with 22 points in his final game at LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center, while freshman Jarell Martin added 13 points.

However, Georgia limited LSU leading scorer Johnny O’Bryant III to five points - about 11 points below his average - while snapping the Tigers’ seven-game home winning streak.

LSU will be the seventh seed in the SEC tournament and get a first-round bye, while the Bulldogs will get a double-bye as one of the top four seeds.

MISSISSIPPI 65, VANDERBILT 62

OXFORD, Miss. - Marshall Henderson scored 18 points, Jarvis Summers added 12 and Mississippi rallied to beat Vanderbilt.

Ole Miss (18-13, 9-9 SEC) won for just the second time in eight games. The Rebels trailed for almost the entire afternoon, but pushed ahead 61-60 on two free throws by Henderson with 3:36 remaining.

Henderson struggled with his shot on his senior day, finishing 5 of 19 from the field, including 2 of 13 from three point range, but he hit several clutch free throws in the final minutes.

Vanderbilt (15-15, 7-11) lost its fourth consecutive game. Dai-Jon Parker scored a career high 25 points and Luke Kornet also had a career high with 13. The Commodores had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Nathan Watkins missed a three-pointer just before the buzzer.

AUBURN 69, TEXAS A&M 64

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - KT Harrell scored 20 points, including 12 in the second half, as Auburn defeated Texas A&M.

The Tigers (14-15, 6-12 SEC) snapped a two-game losing streak and won on the road for the first time in more than a month, a 79-74 triumph at South Carolina on Feb. 5.

The Tigers, who led 35-34 at halftime, outscored the Aggies 15-9 in second-chance opportunities. Auburn owned a 35-25 rebounding advantage, with 14 of those coming on the offensive end.

The Aggies (17-14, 8-10), who saw their five-game home winning streak snapped, closed out the regular season with two consecutive losses. They had hoped to at least make the National Invitation Tournament for their first postseason appearance in coach Billy Kennedy’s three seasons, but that hope now seems farfetched.

SOUTH CAROLINA 74, MISSISSIPPI ST. 62

STARKVILLE, Miss. - South Carolina’s Brenton Williams had seven three-pointers and a game-high 27 points in a road victory over Mississippi State.

Williams had four of those three-pointers in the second half to highlight a 22-4 run by South Carolina. Sindarius Thornwell added 22 points for the Gamecocks (12-19, 5-13 SEC).

Mississippi State (13-18, 3-15) dropped its 13th consecutive game. Craig Sword led the Bulldogs with 19 points.

South Carolina played the game without head coach Frank Martin, who was serving a one-game suspension handed down by the university earlier in the week. South Carolina assistant Matt Figger handled the head coach duties on Saturday.

TUESDAY’S GAMES Florida 72, South Carolina 46 Kentucky 55, Alabama 48

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Arkansas 110, Mississippi 80 Georgia 66, Mississippi State 45 Tennessee 82, Auburn 54 Missouri 57, Texas A&M 56 THURSDAY’S GAME LSU 57, Vanderbilt 51

SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central Florida 84, Kentucky 65 Mississippi 65, Vanderbilt 62 Alabama 83, Arkansas 58 Auburn 69, Texas A&M 64 Tennessee 72, Missouri 45 South Carolina 74, Mississippi St. 62 Georgia 69, LSU 61 Teams listed in order of tournament seeding.

Sports, Pages 26 on 03/09/2014