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Ole Miss tightens up race in West, 74-63
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With its once-promising season slipping away, Mississippi finally made a defensive stop.
Chris Warren scored 22 points, Dwayne Curtis had 10 points and 16 rebounds and Ole Miss held Mississippi State to 38.3 percent shooting in a 74-63 win Wednesday at Oxford, Miss.
The win split the season series and kept the Rebels' long-shot hopes for a SEC Western Division title rolling.
Ole Miss (18-7, 4-7 SEC) snapped its four-game losing streak and Mississippi State's three-game winning streak, temporarily halting the Bulldogs' sprint away from the division pack. The loss cut Mississippi State's lead over Arkansas to one game and kept the Rebels alive in the race, though they're still four games behind the Bulldogs (17-8, 8-3) in the standings with five games left.
The Rebels picked up a rare win using its defense. They had five blocks, eight steals and limited the Bulldogs to 26.1 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line.
Ole Miss outscored Mississippi State 40-28 in the post area. Jamont Gordon scored 20 points for the Bulldogs.
Florida 85, South Carolina 82: Nick Calathes had 17 points and seven assists, Dan Werner added 15 points and the host Gators snapped a two-game losing streak.
Florida (20-7, 7-5 SEC) won 20 games for the 10th consecutive year and may have moved a step closer to making the NCAA tournament.
Florida, which had lost four of its previous, is still in jeopardy of becoming the first national champion since Kansas in 1989 to miss the NCAA field.
South Carolina (12-13, 4-7) lost for the third time in four games.
The Gamecocks trimmed a 17-point deficit to 83-82 with 7.5 seconds to play, but Jai Lucas sank both free throws on the other end to help the Gators hold on.
Evaldas Baniulis led South Carolina with 18 points - 13 more than his average. Devan Downey added 18 points and seven assists. Mike Holmes had 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Arkansas 87, LSU 61: Gary Ervin scored 17 points in his return to the starting lineup, and the host Razorbacks scored 21 unanswered points in the first half to pull away.
Arkansas (18-7, 7-4) led 51-28 after a first half in which they made nine 3-pointers. They made a season-high 11 for the game.
Ervin went 7-of-13 from the field and added six rebounds.
LSU (9-16, 2-9) has lost three of four under interim coach Butch Pierre, who took over after John Brady was fired earlier this month.
© 2008, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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