2002 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
March 7-10 * Georgia Dome * Atlanta, Ga.

FIRST ROUND
March 7 (Thursday)
Game 1 - [E5] Vanderbilt 62, [W4] LSU 69 | Post-Game Press Conference Audio | Game Stats
Game 2 - [W5] Arkansas 61, [E4] Tennessee 68 | Post-Game Press Conference Audio | Game Stats
Game 3 - [W6] Auburn 63, [E3] Florida 81 | Post-Game Press Conference Audio | Game Stats
Game 4 - [E6] South Carolina 69, [W3] Ole Miss 67 | Post-Game Press Conference Audio | Game Stats

[E5] Vanderbilt 62, [W4] LSU 69

ATLANTA (AP) -- Antonio 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.

Leading scorer Ronald Dupree was held to seven points, nearly 10 below his average.

The Commodores (16-14) got 21 points from Chuck Moore, who had three 3-pointers but didn't make a field goal in the final 19 minutes. His 3-pointer to open the second half gave him 13 straight points.

Matt Freije picked up the slack, scoring 15 of his 18 points after halftime.

Vanderbilt pulled to within 47-43 on Brendan Plavich's 3-pointer from the corner with 6:33 left.

But Bright answered with a jump shot and made 1 of 2 free throws to start a 9-2 run, stretching the lead to 56-45 with 2:50 to play.

Hudson scored eight points in the final three minutes for the Tigers, topping his previous career-high of 23 points set three weeks ago against Mississippi State.

LSU, which broke the 60-point barrier for the first time in five games, shot 44 percent from the floor while holding Vanderbilt to 37 percent for its third straight victory. The Commodores dominated the boards 40-29.

The teams traded seven-minute scoring funks in the first half.

Vanderbilt went 7:07 without a point after claiming its only lead. The Tigers rattled off 16 straight points to take a 25-10 lead on Hudson's 3-pointer with 7:02 left.

The Commodores answered with Sam Howard's steal and three-point play. Then, Moore scored the next 10 points over the final 3:40 to close it to 25-23 at halftime.

He had 15 first-half points and all but three of the team's field goals.

The Tigers, who forced 13 turnovers in the half, missed their final eight shots.

[W5] Arkansas 61, [E4] Tennessee 68

ATLANTA (AP) -- Nolan Richardson was lucky he didn't have to coach in this game.

Arkansas went almost eight minutes without a field goal, and Vincent Yarbrough scored 20 points for Tennessee, which beat the Razorbacks 68-61 in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday.

The Razorbacks played their second game since Richardson was bought out as coach _ and the result was downright ugly.

Tennessee (15-15) overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half, despite going 6:09 without scoring.

Arkansas (14-15) couldn't put away the Vols, who outscored the Razorbacks 26-11 over the final 7:42. After Jannero Pargo hit a jumper with 8:44 remaining, Arkansas didn't make another field goal until Pargo's 3-pointer with 56.1 seconds left.

Marcus Haislip put Tennessee ahead for good, 55-53, when he worked inside for a basket with 3:33 remaining. Yarbrough followed with one of his four 3-pointers, giving the Vols some breathing room.

Arkansas never got closer than three points the rest of the way and will miss the postseason for the first time since Richardson's first year at Arkansas, 1985.

The Vols, still hoping to land an NIT bid, must win again to make themselves eligible. They advanced to meet regular-season champion Alabama in the quarterfinals Friday.

Mike Anderson took over as interim coach last Friday, less than a week after Richardson lashed out at the media and fans for their criticism of a disappointing season. Richardson also charged that he was treated differently because he's black.

Anderson ran the team during its final regular-season game, but the Razorbacks didn't forget their former coach. An empty red chair was left in the middle of the players on the sideline. Draped over the chair was a red towel with Richardson's name in white _ a gift for his 500th Division I victory.

The remembrance was more low-key in the SEC tournament. There was no empty chair, just a few players writing Richardson's name or initials on their white shoes.

During the frenetic final minute against the Vols, the Razorbacks displayed the hustle that epitomized Richardson's coaching philosophy. But they simply couldn't put the ball in the basket.

Brandon Dean, who led Arkansas with 16 points, missed an easy layin after grabbing an offensive rebound, and J.J. Sillinger botched a layup at the buzzer. The Razorbacks went only 7-of-28 from the field in the second half and finished at 21-of-56 (37.5 percent).

Tennessee finally won a close game, despite making only 20 of 51 shots from the field (39.2 percent). The Vols have lost 10 times by six points or fewer this season.

[W6] Auburn 63, [E3] Florida 81

ATLANTA (AP) -- 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.

Haslem also had three assists and two blocked shots. Matt Bonner had nine points and seven rebounds as the Gators dominated the boards 38-26.

The Gators couldn't separate themselves from the Tigers (12-16) until the final eight minutes.

Marquis Daniels had 17 of his 23 points in the second half and finished with seven boards for Auburn.

Adam Harrington added 12 points, and Dwayne Mitchell had nine.

The Tigers, playing without center Kyle Davis, finished their worst season since going 11-17 in 1990-91. Davis, the league's leading shotblocker, was out with a broken wrist.

Florida shook off some late-season struggles.

The Gators spent the entire season ranked in the Top 10, rising as high as No. 2 on Jan. 14, before dropping out this week after a 2-3 slump that kept them from getting a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Now, they will have to win three more games to claim the tournament title, a feat only the 2000 Arkansas Razorbacks have managed in the last decade.

It was a clear mismatch offensively, with the league's top offense at times dominating the lowest-scoring team.

The Gators won the first meeting 89-61 on Feb. 20.

Still, Auburn trailed only 32-30 at halftime before Florida scored the first 10 points of the second half.

The Tigers cut the deficit to eight points several times, the last on Daniels' layup with 7:30 left that made it 57-49.

Haslem answered with two free throws and a follow shot, and Nelson added a jumper and a 3-pointer.

Florida shot 55 percent in the second half and 49 percent overall.

Auburn started fast but couldn't maintain two early seven-point leads. The Gators, taking advantage of the big size advantage, started dumping the ball inside to Haslem for an 11-0 run and a 22-15 lead with 8:35 left.

Auburn minimized the damage by slowing the pace, holding the ball until the shot clock had nearly run out before shooting.

It worked. A pair of follow shots by Daniels in the final 50 seconds cut the deficit to two at halftime.

[E6] South Carolina 69, [W3] Ole Miss 67

ATLANTA (AP) -- Rolando Howell banked in a short shot with 16.9 seconds remaining and South Carolina held on for a 69-67 upset of Mississippi in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday night.

Tony Kitchings scored 16 points and Carlos Powell added 14 to lead the Gamecocks (17-13), who stayed alive for an NCAA bid and strengthened their NIT credentials.

Mississippi (20-10), led by David Sanders with 26 points, probably did enough during the regular season to secure a spot in the NCAAs. Still, the Rebels set themselves up for a few nervous days while they await the selection committee announcement Sunday.

Sanders converted a three-point play with 37.5 seconds left, pulling Ole Miss into a 67-67 tie after the Rebels trailed much of the game.

At the other end, Howell shook loose from his defender, Justin Reed, and laid in the winning basket. The Rebels had time to set up for a good shot, but Aaron Harper's 3-pointer for the victory rimmed out.

South Carolina had closed the regular season with three straight losses _ its longest losing streak of the season. The Gamecocks ended that slide and also avenged their worst defeat of the season.

In January, Ole Miss handed South Carolina a 71-53 beating at Oxford.

The Gamecocks will meet No. 12 Kentucky in the quarterfinals Friday night. The Wildcats are the defending tournament champion.

South Carolina sliced through the usually stingy Rebels defense after halftime, making its first eight shots _ all from close range. Jamel Bradley's basket cutting through the lane put the Gamecocks up 50-39 with 11:46 remaining, matching their biggest advantage.

Ole Miss clamped down, holding South Carolina to just two field goals the rest of the way. But the Gamecocks made 10 straight free throws to stay on top.

South Carolina put together a 10-0 run to grab the lead in the first half. Powell finished the run with a couple of free throws, starting his own streak in which he scored eight straight points for the Gamecocks.

Powell had 12 points by halftime, pushing South Carolina to a 32-28 lead. The margin would have been higher if not for Sanders, who beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from just inside the halfcourt line.

South Carolina was coming off an 0-for-19 performance from 3-point range in their last game, a 64-57 loss to Mississippi State.

The Gamecocks missed their first seven 3s against Mississippi, finally breaking the slump when Chuck Eidson's trey bounced off the rim and the backboard before dropping through.

South Carolina finished 2-of-12 from outside the arc, including a key basket by Bradley with 3:02 remaining.