STARKVILLE, MISS. — The Florida Gators rallied on the road, but they couldn’t do enough to force overtime.
Tolu Smith scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Mississippi State to a 72-69 victory over UF on Saturday.
The 6-foot-10 Smith was 11-of-13 shooting and posted his fifth double-double this season. His 6-11 frontline partner Abdul Abu added 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting with nine rebounds. Mississippi State (9-5, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) dominated the paint, outscoring the Gators 52-28.
The Bulldogs led 70-60 with just under a minute to go. Florida’s Tre Mann scored seven points from there before missing an awkward and contested 3-pointer at the buzzer.