Florida beats Auburn, 69-47

Florida forward Keyontae Johnson (11) celebrates after making a 3-point shot against Auburn during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Stamey)
Florida forward Keyontae Johnson (11) celebrates after making a 3-point shot against Auburn during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Stamey)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida's Omar Payne had the best game of his college career, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Payne, a freshman from Kissimmee, was widely considered an afterthought in Florida's highly touted recruiting class. Against the Tigers, he looked like a future lottery pick.

The 6-foot-10 forward dominated in the paint, scoring on tip-ins, putbacks and layups, and creating a mismatch nightmare for Auburn (15-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference). His three-point play put Florida (12-5, 4-1) up by 14 with a little more than 4 minutes to play.

Danjel Purifoy was the only player in double figures for Auburn, which shot 25.5% from the field. He had 10 points.

 

Alabama 88, Missouri 74

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - John Petty scored 20 points and Alex Reese and Jaden Shackelford each had 17 to lead Alabama to an 88-74 victory over Missouri on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide (10-7, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) built a 12-point second-half lead and then withstood challenges to punctuate a week that included handing No. 4 Auburn its first loss. The final margin was the game's biggest.

Missouri (9-8, 1-4) pulled to within three points several times, the last on Reed Nikko's basket with 6:34 left. That was as close as the Tigers could come despite making all 31 free throw attempts.

That foul shot success set an SEC mark. The league's previous high for free throw perfection came when Florida made all 27 attempts against Tennessee in 1994.

Petty scored nine points down the stretch for the Tide. He and Reese each made four 3-pointers.

Herb Jones had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Alabama. Kira Lewis scored 10 points and had seven assists but also turned it over six times.

 

Tennessee 66, Vanderbilt 45

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee coach Rick Barnes didn't know that the Volunteers had helped snap Vanderbilt's streak of making at least one 3-pointer in 1,080 consecutive games.

First-year coach Jerry Stackhouse wasn't happy some fans booed, seemingly more concerned about a 34-year-old streak than the Vanderbilt team on the court.

Jordan Bowden scored 21 points, and the Tennessee Volunteers beat Vanderbilt 66-45 Saturday for their fifth straight win against the Commodores for their longest winning streak in this in-state rivalry in 38 years.

"That's a really honestly tough situation as a coach," Barnes said. "You sit there and you see shots that are pretty good looks at it and just can't go down for you. Again, I've been there. I have so much respect for Jerry Stackhouse, character, who he is. We've had some adversity too."

Tennessee (11-6, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) won 10 straight against Vanderbilt between 1978 and 1982, and now these Volunteers also have won four straight at Memorial Gym and pulled within 54-53 of Vanderbilt inside the SEC's oldest gym.

Yves Pons and John Fulkerson each scored 12 points for Tennessee, which now is 3-3 since losing senior guard Lamonte Turner for the season.

Vanderbilt (8-9, 0-4) tried 25 3-pointers trying to keep alive a streak that started when the shot was introduced for the 1986-87 season. Now only UNLV and Princeton are the only schools left in that category. Jordan Wright nearly hit a 3 to keep the streak alive with 3:18 left that didn't count due to a shot clock violation.

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