Southeastern Conference Tournament Recaps

Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – KC Ross-Miller netted 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the 13th seeded Auburn Tigers knocked off the 12th seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs, 74-68, in the first round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.

KT Harrell added 19 points to the scoring effort for Auburn (13-19), while Alex Thompson tallied 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. The Tigers will now challenge the fifth seed, Texas A&M, in the second round of the tourney on Thursday.

Craig Sword finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Mississippi State (13-19) in the loss. IJ Ready contributed with 18 points.

The Bulldogs entered halftime with a slim 36-34 lead over Auburn. The Bulldogs converted 48.3 percent of their field-goal tries, but that included just 1- of-8 from 3-point distance in the first half. Auburn kept pace with 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers netted 56.5 percent of their field-goal tries in the second half, including three 3-pointers, and went 11-of-15 at the free-throw line. Mississippi State did connect on 52.2 percent of its tries from the field in the final period, but came up empty on all four chances beyond the arc.

Auburn outscored MSU from beyond the arc, 24-3, and finished with more rebounds (34-27) and bench points (24-11).

Final Score: South Carolina 63, Missouri 54

Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Sindarius Thornwell scored a game-high 18 points and handed out six assists as the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Missouri Tigers, 63-54, in the first round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.

Michael Carrera accounted for 12 points and six rebounds for the 11th-seeded Gamecocks (16-15) who now move on to face sixth-seeded Ole Miss in the second round of the tourney on Thursday.

The 14th-seeded Tigers (9-23) were led by Montaque Gill-Caesar delivered 10 points off the bench and Johnathan Williams came within a point of a double- double as he cleared a game-high 11 rebounds in defeat.

Both sides made a total of just 10 field goals in the first half, but thanks to a trio of 3-pointers and 7-of-8 shooting at the free-throw line, USC managed to post a 30-24 advantage at the break.

In the second half Missouri converted only eight baskets and was 2-of-8 on the perimeter, en route to the nine-point setback.

The Tigers, who were only 4-of-16 on the outside, also turned the ball over 16 times, which the Gamecocks traded in for 20 points.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball