Gators, Gamecocks, Tigers, Vols advance at SEC tourney

By

Posted 6:35AM on Friday, March 8, 2002

ATLANTA - Udonis Haslem had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Brett Nelson hit six 3-pointers as No. 11 Florida beat Auburn 81-63 Thursday night in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Gators (22-7) play Mississippi State in Friday's quarterfinals. They'll need to win four games in four days to take their first SEC tournament title. Florida's two biggest stars had huge games. Nelson had 23 points and four assists, shooting 6-of-11 on 3-pointers. Haslem was 7-of-7 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line against Auburn's short-handed and undersized frontcourt before fouling out with 2:11 left. S. CAROLINA 69, MISSISSIPPI 67 South Carolina got a scare at the end. Coach Dave Odom didn't mind a bit. The Gamecocks finally won a close game, upsetting Mississippi 69-67 when Rolando Howell banked in a short shot with 16.9 seconds left in a first-round game at the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday night. During the regular season, South Carolina (17-13) had a pair of one-point losses against No. 8 Alabama and No. 12 Kentucky. There also was an overtime loss to No. 17 Georgia, plus a two-point setback against Georgetown. Tony Kitchings scored 16 points and Carlos Powell added 14 to lead the Gamecocks, who stayed alive for an NCAA bid and strengthened their NIT credentials. LSU 69, VANDERBILT 62 Vanderbilt figured the best way to defend Antonio Hudson was to knock him out of his rhythm. It didn't happen. Hudson scored a career-high 24 points, including 15 in the second half, to lift LSU to a 69-62 victory over Vanderbilt on Thursday in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Tigers (17-13) advance to meet 17th-ranked Georgia, the East Division top seed, on Friday. Jermaine Williams added 12 points and five steals as LSU scored 28 points off 23 turnovers. Torris Bright had 11 points, four steals and four assists. TENNESSEE 68, ARKANSAS 61 Nolan Richardson was lucky he didn't have to coach in this one. Vincent Yarbrough scored 20 points for Tennessee and Arkansas went almost eight minutes without a field goal, losing to the Volunteers 68-61 in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament this afternoon. The Razorbacks played their second game since Richardson was forced out as coach. Tennessee (15-15) overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half, despite going more than six minutes without scoring itself.