GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Preseason All-American Madison Booker had 31 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and No. 6 Texas opened up the fourth quarter and beat No. 24 Mississippi 85-68 on Saturday to reach the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game for the second straight season.
Kyla Oldacre had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns (30-3), who will face No. 3 South Carolina (31-2) in a rematch of last year’s championship game, which the Gamecocks won 64-45.
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Cody McMahon scored 20 points for Mississippi State (23-11), which led 28-13 in the fourth quarter.
The Rebels advanced to the semifinals with a stunning win over No. 5 Vanderbilt, where they held a 23-2 lead and a 32-point lead in the third quarter before holding off a late rally by the Commodores.
They didn’t get off to a fast start on Saturday.
The taller Longhorns went on a 12-0 run in the first half to build a 16-point lead and outscored the Rebels in the paint 30-14.
But after entering the fourth quarter, Denim DeShields hit a three-pointer in the corner to beat the buzzer, and the University of Mississippi fought back strongly to reduce the gap to two points.
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The fourth quarter belonged to Texas and Booker.
Booker scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the final frame, including a 3-pointer with two minutes left to help push the Longhorns’ lead to 12 points. Mississippi State shot 5 of 14 in the fourth quarter and missed all five three-pointers.
Next
Mississippi State: Awaiting NCAA Tournament seeding.
Texas: split two games with South Carolina this season, beating the Gamecocks 66-64 in a neutral-site game in November and losing 68-65 in Columbia, S.C., in January.
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