Auburn stuns Ole Miss on gimpy Tolbert's shooting

Gimpy ankle and all, Frank Tolbert was still healthy enough to help Auburn deny No. 18 Mississippi its best start in eight decades.

Tolbert scored 29 points one day after spraining his right ankle and DeWayne Reed had 21, both career highs, to lead the Tigers to an 80-77 victory over the Rebels on Saturday.

Tolbert spent most of Saturday morning in the training room.

"I had a lot of confidence today," said Tolbert, who was 9-of-11 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. "It was a big game and the confidence just came to me."

It was the Tigers' fourth victory in their last five games against ranked teams, with the only loss coming to then-No. 1 Florida last January.

Ole Miss (15-2, 2-2 SEC) was trying to match its school-best 16-1 start in the 1925-26 season but fell short with yet another close SEC game. The Rebels' first four league games have been decided by a total of 10 points.

Quantez Robertson's 3-pointer from the right corner off a screen broke a 70-all tie with 1 minute left for the Tigers (11-5, 2-2).

The Rebels' Eniel Polynice then missed a 3 at the other end. Tolbert made four straight free throws and Auburn went 7-of-10 from the line over the final 39 seconds to keep Ole Miss from tying after twice pulling within three points.

Mississippi State 66, Alabama 56: Aided by one of the league's top scorers, the visiting Bulldogs continued their best start in conference play in 15 years.

Jamont Gordon scored 24 points and keyed a late run in the win that extended Mississippi State's winning streak to eight.

On the other side, the only streak Alabama saw extending was its losing one.

The Bulldogs (13-5, 4-0 SEC) led by as many as 13 points midway through the second half before the Crimson Tide (11-8, 0-4) made a final comeback attempt.

Richard Hendrix again led the way for Alabama with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

Vanderbilt 92, LSU 76: Alex Gordon and Shan Foster both scored 18 points and the No. 16 Commodores snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Tigers at home.

The Commodores, coming off losses to Kentucky and No. 6 Tennessee, bounced back by going 9-for-19 from 3-point range and shooting 49.2 percent overall from the field.

Foster, Vanderbilt's best outside shooter, made only one of 11 3-point attempts Thursday at Tennessee. He hit four of his first five shots from long distance Saturday. Gordon also made four 3s.

Ross Neltner added 16 points for the Commodores (17-2, 2-2 SEC), while Jermaine Beal had 10 points and nine assists.

"We needed a win," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stalllings said. "I was afraid our confidence would be a little bit down. When you lose two in a row, it can start chipping away at how you feel about yourself."

Marcus Thornton had 27 points for the Tigers (7-11, 0-4) and Anthony Randolph added 14 points and 19 rebounds.

Georgia 82, Arkansas 69: Billy Humphrey equaled his career high, scoring 24 points to lead the Bulldogs over the visiting Razorbacks.

Sundiata Gaines and Jeremy Price each scored 14 for Georgia (11-5, 2-1 SEC).

Charles Thomas with 13 points and Sonny Weems with 12 led Arkansas (13-5, 2-2).