STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Quinndary Weatherspoon converted a three-point play with 3.4 seconds left to lift No. 24 Mississippi State over Florida 71-68 on Tuesday night.
Weatherspoon drove the lane and was fouled by Kevarrius Hayes while sinking the winning layup. Weatherspoon finished with nine points.
Lamar Peters scored all 16 of his points in the first half, and Tyson Carter added 12 for Mississippi State (13-3, 1-2 SEC).
KeVaughn Allen (North Little Rock) had 17 points for Florida (9-7, 1-3), and Andrew Nembhard had 13 points. Noah Locke had 12 points for the Gators, who had won eight consecutive against Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs led 36-34 at halftime and the teams played close throughout the second half. Allen's three-pointer with 2:55 remaining put the Gators ahead 66-61, but Aric Holman answered with a three on the next possession, and Weatherspoon tied it at 66-66 with a layup with 1:27 left.
Holman and Locke exchanged baskets in the final 24 seconds before Weatherspoon won it with his three-point play.
The Gators have dropped three of their first four SEC games with their only victory at Arkansas. The road doesn't get easier with a road trip to Georgia this weekend.
NO. 4 VIRGINIA 81,
NO. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- De'Andre Hunter scored 21 points and Ty Jerome had 14 and a career-high 12 assists as No. 4 Virginia started fast and routed No. 9 Virginia Tech.
Kyle Guy added 15 points for the Cavaliers (16-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) who also remained one of two unbeaten teams in the country along with Michigan, which was idle.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 19 points and Ahmed Hill 14 to lead Virginia Tech (14-2, 3-1).
NO. 10 NEVADA 72,
BOISE STATE 71
BOISE, Idaho -- Cody Martin hit a three-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to help No. 10 Nevada beat Boise State.
Boise State (8-9, 3-1 Mountain West) had a chance to win it, but Justinian Jessup's long three-point heave at the buzzer fell short.
Nevada seemed to have the game on cruise control early in the second half, never allowing the Broncos to get any closer than seven points, but the Wolf Pack (17-1, 4-1) remained in constant foul trouble..
NO. 12 KENTUCKY 69, GEORGIA 49
ATHENS, Ga. -- Ashton Hagans silenced a hostile crowd by scoring a season-high 23 points, leading No. 12 Kentucky over Georgia.
The Wildcats (13-3, 3-1 SEC) pulled away in the second half for their third consecutive victory.
Georgia (9-7, 1-3) led by five in the opening minutes before going to the locker room down 35-31.
NO. 13 NORTH CAROLINA 75, NOTRE DAME 69
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Nassir Little scored all 11 of his points in the final 11 minutes, and No. 13 North Carolina beat Notre Dame.
Coby White had 17 points while Luke Maye added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Cameron Johnson finished with 11 points for the Tar Heels (13-4, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Prentiss Hubb scored 18 points, John Mooney had 16 points and 19 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (11-6, 1-3).
NO. 15 MARQUETTE 74, GEORGETOWN 71
WASHINGTON -- Sam Hauser scored a career-high 31 points, Theo John tied a career-high with 14 points and No. 15 Marquette held on to beat Georgetown despite Markus Howard -- the nation's fourth leading scorer -- playing just three scoreless minutes due to lower back tightness.
John blocked Georgetown's James Akinjo's drive with four seconds left as Marquette (15-3, 4-1) won its fourth consecutive game.
Georgetown (12-6, 2-3) was led by Mac McClung with 24 points while Jessie Govan added 14 points and nine rebounds.
NO. 16 BUFFALO 88, WESTERN MICHIGAN 79
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Jeremy Harris had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 16 Buffalo held off upset-minded Western Michigan.
Nick Perkins added 14 points for the Bulls (16-1, 4-0 Mid-American Conference), who trailed by 11 in the first half and struggled to shake free of WMU until the very end. Buffalo had won its first three MAC games by a combined 70 points.
The Broncos (6-11, 0-4) went on a 15-0 run in the first half and led 33-22, but Buffalo rebounded quickly and led 43-39 at halftime.
WAKE FOREST 71,
NO. 17 N.C. STATE 67
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Freshman Jaylen Hoard had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Wake Forest blew a 22-point lead before recovering in time to top No. 17 North Carolina State.
Graduate transfer Torry Johnson added 11 points for the Demon Deacons (8-8, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). That included a critical jumper with 1:19 left in a one-point game, along with two free throws with 13.3 seconds left that helped the Demon Deacons survive a wild night against the Wolfpack (14-3, 2-2).
LSU 83,
NO. 18 MISSISSIPPI 69
OXFORD, Miss. -- Tremont Waters scored 20 points, Kavell Bigby-Williams had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, and LSU beat No. 18 Mississippi.
LSU (13-3, 3-0 SEC) used an early 8-0 run in the second half to take a 48-39 lead. The Tigers maintained a healthy advantage from that point, playing tight defense and forcing several turnovers.
Ole Miss (13-3, 3-1) had its 10-game winning streak snapped. Terence Davis led Ole Miss with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Sports on 01/16/2019