Southeastern Conference Tournament: No. 5E South Carolina was able to shut down Chris Lofton and come away with the biggest upset of the tournament against No. 1E Tennessee 79-71. Tre’ Kelley took control of the game early and finished with 25 points and eight assists. Lofton finished with 12 points, which all came in the second half. C.J. Watson tried to keep the Vols in the game, but after scoring 23 points, he fouled out with more than a minute to go. The Gamecocks will play No. 3E Kentucky game in the semifinals.
Kentucky squeezed out a 68-61 victory against No. 2W Alabama Friday afternoon. Despite not scoring their 10th point until 7:48 remaining in the first half, the Wildcats ended the half with a 23-22 lead. The second half brought out the shooters. Alabama sophomore guard Ronald Steele and freshman forward Alonzo Gee each had three three-pointers in the second half, but it could not overcome the shooting of Kentucky. Sophomore guard Joe Crawford led the team in scoring with 14 points, including 4-of-7 on his three point shots. Junior forward Bobby Perry and senior guard Patrick Sparks were right behind Crawford with 13 points apiece. The ‘Cats move on to face No. 5E South Carolina in the opening game Saturday.
No. 1W LSU showed why the Tigers were the regular-season champions against No. 4E Vanderbilt. Sophomore forward Glen Davis and company never lost the lead and, for the most part, Vanderbilt did not even threaten. Davis finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers to a 92-73 victory. LSU will play the winner of the Florida/Arkansas game Saturday night.
No. 2E Florida survived a close one against No. 3W Arkansas. Lee Humphrey was outstanding for the Gators and finished with 25 points in the 74-71 win. Florida will now face No. 1W LSU in the second semifinal Saturday. [3/10/06]
