Florida Wins SEC Tournament

Matt Walsh made sure Florida didn’t squander another chance to win the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Walsh scored 26 points, including consecutive three-point baskets that sparked a 21-2 run, leading the Gators to a 70-53 rout of No. 4 Kentucky on Sunday at Atlanta and their first SEC tournament championship.

Florida (23-7) beat the Wildcats for the second time in eight days, effectively knocking them out of contention for a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament.

The Gators also defied history, winning their first tournament title on their 40th try against the team that has defined success in this event.

Kentucky (25-5) had won the last two tournaments, 10 of the last 13 and 25 in all -- more than all other SEC schools combined.

No. 10 Oklahoma State 72, Texas Tech 68 -- The Cowboys (24-6) earned their second straight Big 12 tournament championship by beating the Red Raiders (20-10) at Kansas City, Mo.

Joey Graham, the tournament’s most valuable player, had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the third-seeded Cowboys, who overcame 20 turnovers -- seven by Graham.

Ronald Ross, who had 22 points for Texas Tech, missed a three-point attempt with five seconds left and the fourth-seeded Red Raiders trailing, 71-68.

John Lucas caught the ball under the basket, was fouled, and made the second of his two free throw attempts to put the game out of reach.

Alabama A&M; 72, Alabama State 53 -- Obie Trotter scored 24 points on eight-of-10 shooting from three-point range to lead the Bulldogs (18-13) past the Hornets (15-15) at Birmingham, Ala., for the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Southeastern Louisiana 49, Northwestern State 42 -- The second-seeded Lions (24-8) ended a 10-game winning streak by the top-seeded Demons (21-12) and earned their first NCAA tournament berth with the victory in the Southland Conference tournament championship game at Natchitoches, La.