Vernon Macklin scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Florida Gators past Mississippi State 69-62.
Chandler Parsons added 18 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.
Mississippi State’s duo of Ravern Johnson and Jarvis Varnado combined for 36 points, but it wasn’t enough to knock off the Gators at home.
Down 29-27 at the half, the Gators started the second half by pounding the ball inside to Macklin. Macklin scored the first 10 points of the second half for the Gators, including a few emphatic dunks that put the home crowd on their feet.
Despite being up 12 with 2:40 to play, the Gators had to make their free throws down the stretch as Mississippi State got hot from behind the arc cutting the lead to 5 with 1:10 to play.
The Gators moved to 17-6 overall and 6-3 in the SEC, while Mississippi State fell to 16-7 and 4-4 in the SEC.