Harris Carries No. 8 Tennessee in OT

Tennessee’s Tony Harris felt the weight of his team on his shoulders, and he was ready to carry the load.

“I had to,” Harris said Saturday after leading the No. 8 Volunteers back from a 14-point deficit to force a tie and key a 76-73 overtime victory against No. 12 Florida at Knoxville, Tenn.

With Florida ahead, 63-61, and nine seconds left in regulation, the referees called time to review a possession call. Tennessee Coach Jerry Green and Florida Coach Billy Donovan huddled with their teams. The ball went to the Volunteers.

“Coach gave me the game plan,” Harris said. “Go to the hole and if somebody collapses on you, dish it off. But in the back of my mind, I just wanted to take it upon myself.”

Harris took the inbounds and drove the length of the court. His layup with five seconds left tied it at 63, and the Volunteers and Gators went to overtime.

“Harris got the ball and the Red Sea parted,” Donovan said. “We had a good five minutes to talk about it and didn’t execute.”

Harris, who finished with a game-high 26 points, went on to score nine of Tennessee’s 13 points in overtime, including two free throws to ice the victory with five seconds on the clock.

“I tried to control what we could do,” Donovan said. “We didn’t control Harris.”

With a nearly full house of 22,141, Volunteer fans rushed the floor as a three-point try by Florida’s Matt Bonner missed at the buzzer.

It was the second overtime game this season between Tennessee (21-3, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) and Florida (18-5, 7-3). The Volunteers won, 81-79, in double overtime at Gainesville on Jan. 18.

In a low-scoring battle between the SEC’s top two offensive teams, neither team shot particularly well. Tennessee shot 40% to Florida’s 42%.

The Volunteers relied on the perimeter and guard play, while Florida dominated the front court. The Gators outscored the Volunteers, 52-32, in the paint, while Tennessee scored 14 points off fast breaks to Florida’s eight.

No. 3 Duke 84, Georgia Tech 65--Six players scored in double figures as the Blue Devils, recapturing their defensive intensity after a home loss to Maryland, defeated the turnover-plagued Yellowjackets at Atlanta.

Chris Carrawell and Nate James scored 15 points apiece to lead Duke (19-3, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Shaun Fein led Georgia Tech (11-12, 3-7) with 15 points.

No. 5 Ohio St. 88, Penn St. 75--Michael Redd matched his season high with 25 points as the Buckeyes defeated the Nittany Lions at Columbus, Ohio.

George Reese added 21 points, and Scoonie Penn had 17 points and seven assists for Ohio State (17-4, 8-2 Big Ten). Jarrett Stephens and Joe Crispin each scored 25 points for Penn State (12-9, 4-6).

No. 6 Michigan State 61, Wisconsin 44--Morris Peterson had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Spartans kept a share of the Big Ten lead with a victory over the Badgers at Madison, Wis.

Michigan State (18-6, 8-2 Big Ten) never trailed and were never really threatened by Wisconsin (12-11, 4-7), which lost for the third time in four games.

No. 14 Oklahoma State 74, No. 16 Oklahoma 71--Joe Adkins scored a season-high 21 points as the Cowboys defeated the Sooners at Norman, Okla.

Brian Montonati made two free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining to give Oklahoma State (20-2, 9-1 Big 12) the final margin. Eduardo Najera scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half as Oklahoma (19-4, 7-3) clawed back after a big early deficit.

No. 17 Iowa State 87, Nebraska 65--Marcus Fizer made all but one shot in scoring 23 points and the Cyclones blew away the Cornhuskers with a 29-5 run in the second half at Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State (21-3, 9-1 Big 12) won for the 18th time in 19 games and stayed tied with Oklahoma State for first place in the conference. Nebraska (10-13, 3-7) lost for the fourth time in five games and is 0-5 on the road in conference.

No. 18 Texas 66, Missouri 63--Darren Kelly made two free throws with 13 seconds to play as the Longhorns rallied to defeat the Tigers at Columbia, Mo.

Chris Mihm had 15 points and seven rebounds for Texas (17-6, 8-2 Big 12), Kelly had 13 points, and Gabe Muoneke had 12 points and seven rebounds. Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert each had 12 points for Missouri (14-8, 7-3).

No. 20 Kansas 94, Kansas State 65--Jeff Boschee scored 24 points and Kenny Gregory added 17 as the Jayhawks (18-6, 7-3 Big 12) defeated the Wildcats (8-13, 1-9) at Manhattan, Kan.

No. 21 Utah 77, Brigham Young 62--Alex Jensen scored eight of his 16 points in a key second-half run as the Utes (19-4, 8-1 Mountain West Conference) defeated the Cougars (15-6, 4-4) at Salt Lake City, extending Utah’s home winning streak to 50.

Alabama 77, No. 22 Vanderbilt 63--Doc Martin scored 19 points to lead the undermanned Crimson Tide (11-11, 4-6 SEC) to an upset over the Commodores (16-5, 6-4) at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

OTHER GAMES

North Carolina 87, Wake Forest 64--Joseph Forte scored 24 points, Brendan Haywood added 20 and the Tar Heels (16-9, 7-4 ACC) shot 65% in the second half to run away from the Demon Deacons (13-11, 4-7) at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Virginia 88, North Carolina State 82--Travis Watson had a career-high 20 points and Donald Hand had all 17 of his points in the second half as the Cavaliers (16-8, 6-5 ACC) defeated the Wolfpack (15-7, 5-6) at Charlottesville, Va.

Seton Hall 77, Boston College 66--Rimas Kaukenas scored 21 points and backcourt mate Shaheen Holloway had 20 as the Pirates (18-4, 10-2 Big East) defeated the Eagles (9-15, 1-10) at East Rutherford, N.J.

St. John’s 78, Villanova 75--Erick Barkley returned from his two-game suspension with 16 points--including two three-point baskets in the final six minutes--and seven assists and the Red Storm (16-6, 8-3 Big East) defeated the Wildcats (13-9, 4-6) at New York.

Purdue 77, Northwestern 58--Jaraan Cornell and Mike Robinson scored 17 points each to lead the Boilermakers (17-7, 8-3 Big Ten) to a victory over the Wildcats (5-18, 0-10) at Evanston, Ill.

Tulane 77, Alabama Birmingham 66--Sterling Davis scored 14 points and Waitari Marsh and Ledaryl Billingsley had 12 apiece to lead the Green Wave (17-6, 6-5 Conference USA) past the Blazers (12-10, 5-6) at Birmingham, Ala., despite 30 points from Duarte native Eric Holmes.

Nevada Las Vegas 87, Wyoming 60--Kaspars Kambala scored 29 points and had 11 rebounds as the Rebels (16-5, 7-2 Mountain West) defeated the Cowboys (13-10, 3-5) at Las Vegas.

Arkansas 87, Mississippi State 81--Joe Johnson scored 22 points and Chris Walker had 18, including four three-point baskets, as the Razorbacks (13-10, 5-5 SEC) defeated the Bulldogs (12-11, 3-7) at Starkville, Miss.