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Florida Comes Back to Beat Tennessee and Advance in SEC

Patric Young scored 16 points and No. 1 Florida turned up the defensive pressure in the second half Saturday, rallying for a 56-49 victory over Tennessee in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Atlanta.


Florida (31-2) extended its program-record winning streak to 25 after trailing by 10 in the first half. The Gators were down, 35-28, at the break, but they wore down the Volunteers (21-12) over the final 20 minutes. After shooting 54 percent in the opening period, Tennessee made just five of 20 shots and turned the ball over 11 times, leaving its fate in the hands of the N.C.A.A. selection committee.


The Gators, improving to 20-0 against SEC opponents, will face Kentucky or Georgia in the championship game Sunday.


Florida's Scottie Wilbekin added 14 points and Casey Prather had 12.


Jordan McRae led Tennessee with 15 points, while Jarnell Stokes had 13 points and seven rebounds.


The final minutes were marred by a number of questionable calls, including a technical on Tennessee's Jeronne Maymon for disputing that he threw a shoulder. It was the fifth foul on Maymon, knocking him out of the game with more than four and a half minutes remaining after he scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.



Then with just over a minute left, there was a long break while the officials went to the replay to rule on a potential flagrant foul against Wilbekin, even though it wasn't even clear if he had touched a Tennessee player while swinging his arms high.


It didn't matter at the end. The Gators defeated Tennessee for the third time this season, each one following the same plotline. The Vols held their own in the first half, only to be dominated by Florida in the second.


The cumulative second-half score in the three games was Florida 103, Tennessee 60 - including a 28-14 margin on Saturday.


Despite the loss, the Vols will probably land a spot in the N.C.A.A. tournament because of their strength of schedule.


In the first half, at least, Tennessee looked worthy of a spot in the 68-team field. The Vols were the first team to lead Florida by double digits since the first of its two losses, at Wisconsin on Nov. 12.


Wilbekin cut the deficit at halftime to 35-28 with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but Florida still went to the locker room facing its second-biggest deficit of the season at the midway point. Not that the Gators were ruffled by being in that position - it was the eighth time they had trailed at the break, and they have now come back to win six in a row.


Wilbekin, Florida's senior leader, did not have his usual stellar game although he did go 3 of 7 from 3-point range. He was definitely off in the first half, throwing up an air ball on an off-balance shot from the baseline and barely grazing the rim with another attempt.


He was also on the receiving end of Tennessee's best defensive play of the first half, when McRae scrambled back to make a spectacular block as Wilbekin tried to lay it in off a fast break.


There was a wild scramble for the loose ball, and Tennessee tied up the Gators to gain possession on the jump ball - the sort of play that usually goes Florida's way.


ALBANY 69, STONY BROOK 60 D. J. Evans scored 16 points as Albany defeated host Stony Brook in the America East championship, giving the team its second consecutive N.C.A.A. tournament berth.


Peter Hooley added 15 for the Great Danes, including a 3-pointer with 1 minute 4 seconds remaining to put his team ahead, 61-56.


Albany managed to pull out the road win despite losing Sam Rowley, who scored a game-high 18 points, when he fouled out with 7:02 left. Down 6 at the time, the Great Danes outscored Stony Brook, 23-8, en route to their fourth America East Conference title.


Carson Puriefoy led the way for Stony Brook with 13 points, while Jameel Warney added 12.


The Seawolves were attempting to earn their first NCAA tournament berth.


Women


AKRON 79, BALL STATE 68 Rachel Tecca scored 30 points and dominated inside, leading Akron to the N.C.A.A. tournament for the first time with a win over Ball State in the Mid-American Conference championship in Cleveland.


Tecca, who scored 20 in the first half, added 12 rebounds for the third-seeded Zips (23-9), who started the season 4-4 but have won 16 of 17 and will enter the tournament as one of the nation's hottest teams.


With their first MAC title, Akron also tied a record for wins in the program's 40th year.


The Zips led by 25 in the second half and then withstood a late rally by the fifth-seeded Cardinals (18-16), playing their fifth game in six days.


Brittany Carter made five 3-pointers in the last eight minutes and led Ball State 23 points. The Cardinals knocked off top-seeded Bowling Green in the semifinals and four games in the tournament but didn't have nearly enough to take down Akron.


Tecca, a three-time all-MAC selection, capped her stellar career with the tournament's most valuable award and by carrying the Zips to a long-awaited title.


Tecca, a 6-foot-1 senior from Tallmadge, drove past Ball State defenders whenever she wanted, and if she couldn't find an opening, she simply stepped outside and knocked down shots. She finished 13 of 19 from the floor.


Tecca helped the Zips open a double-digit lead late in the first half by scoring Akron's final eight points - all on layups. She opened the second half with a quick bucket, and within minutes the Zips had built a 53-35 lead over the weary Cardinals, whose shots were coming up short in their attempt to mount a comeback.


Akron pushed its lead to 25 points midway through the second half, and the Zips fans were already starting to celebrate when the Cardinals got hot.


Carter found her stroke and made four consecutive 3-pointers, the last cutting Akron's lead to 73-63 with 4:02 left.


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