NASHVILLE, Tenn. — John Wall scored seven of his 15 points in overtime, and No. 2 Kentucky rallied from five down with 2:28 left to beat Mississippi State 75-74 Sunday in the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball final.

It was the 26th SEC tournament championship for the Wildcats, who were named the top seed in the NCAA East Regional.

The Wildcats (32-2) blew earlier chances with freshmen Wall and DeMarcus Cousins missing free throws and making youthful mistakes. But they came through over the defending tourney champions as Cousins’ layup off Wall’s missed 3-pointer from the right corner beat the regulation buzzer to give them some extra time.

Now Kentucky can celebrate its first SEC tournament title since 2004, ending an interminable drought for their fans, who now expect another national championship.

Mississippi State (23-11) lost to the Wildcats for the second time this season after leading late in regulation. The Bulldogs blew a seven-point lead on Feb. 16, losing that game 81-75 in overtime.

This time, the Bulldogs led 62-57 on Ravern Johnson’s 3-pointer with 2:28 left. That set up a furious finish to a game that had gone back and forth from the opening tip.

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Barry Stewart hit two free throws with 8.2 seconds left to push the Bulldogs’ lead to 64-61. Then he fouled out, sending Bledsoe to the free-throw line. He hit the first, missed the second and Wall’s 3-point attempt was short. But Cousins put it back, getting the shot off before the buzzer.

Officials immediately signaled that the shot counted, and Wall and Cousins slammed to the court near the press table celebrating with their teammates piling on as if they had won the game. They finally went back to the bench while officials reviewed the play.

“Time never ran out, seemed like,” Stewart said of the end of regulation. “Longest 4.9 seconds of my life.”

As the Bulldogs slumped and Kentucky celebrated, overtime seemed destined to go the Wildcats’ way. Even then, it wasn’t easy.

Bledsoe’s jumper put them ahead to stay at 71-69 with 1:20 left, and Wall’s lone 3-pointer of the game pushed it to 74-71 with 26 seconds remaining.

Cousins hit two free throws with 5 seconds to go that wound up the winning margin as Riley Benock hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

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It was the first time since 1952 that the SEC championship had been decided by one point.

Bledsoe finished with 18 points. Patrick Patterson had 15 and Cousins finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Johnson scored 20 points to lead Mississippi State.

 

(4) DUKE 65, GEORGIA TECH 61: Kyle Singler scored 20 points and Jon Scheyer hit a critical 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to help Duke (29-5) beat Georgia Tech (22-12) in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament final at Greensboro, N.C.

Scheyer finished with 16 points for the top-seeded Blue Devils, who let an 11-point lead with 6 minutes left slip to one before Scheyer’s big shot. Nolan Smith also had 16 points to help Duke earn a league-record 18th tournament title, breaking a tie with rival North Carolina.

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The seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets were trying to become the first team in tournament history to win four games in four days.

Duke has won nine of the past 12 ACC tournaments.

 

(5) OHIO STATE 90, MINNESOTA 61: Tournament MVP Evan Turner had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead Ohio State (27-7) over Minnesota (21-13) in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament at Indianapolis.

Turner hit a 37-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Michigan in the quarterfinals, then scored 12 of his 31 points after regulation in a double-overtime win over Illinois in the semifinals. He topped it by setting the tournament record for points in a championship game.

Ohio State made nine 3-pointers in the second half to pull away after leading by just three at halftime. David Lighty scored 20 points and Jon Diebler added 19 for the Buckeyes.

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(17) TEMPLE 56, RICHMOND 52: Ryan Brooks hit four free throws over the final 50 seconds as top-seeded Temple (29-5) beat third-seeded Richmond (26-8) at Atlantic City, N.J., to capture its third straight Atlantic 10 championship.

Tournament MVP Juan Fernandez scored 18 points and Brooks and Ramone Moore finished with 12 each for Temple, which won its ninth conference title.

BASEBALL

BOWDOIN SWEEPS CURRY: Adam Marquit hit for the cycle as the Polar Bears opened their season with a 17-4 win over Curry at Winter Haven, Fla.

Oliver Van Zant pitched 61/3 no-hit innings as Bowdoin won the second game, 6-2.

Reid Auger, Brendan Garner, Dan Findley and Dan Hicks homered for Bowdoin in Game 1. Findley went 5 for 5.

 


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