The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Jaime Lloreda scored 21 points and hit a key free throw with 15 seconds remaining as LSU beat No. 7 Florida 65-61 in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

It was the third top-10 team the Tigers have beaten this year. They also upset No. 1 Arizona 66-65 on Dec. 21, and then No. 7 Mississippi State Jan. 11.

"We're capable of winning big games right now," LSU forward Collis Temple III said. "We feel it, we believe it."

Lloreda, who also had 15 boards and four blocked shots, pulled down a rebound with 15 seconds remaining and was fouled hard by Matt Walsh.

With the Tigers up 64-61, Lloreda made the second of two free throws, and LSU held off the Gators' final effort for the victory. Lloreda finished going 5-for-11 from the free-throw line.

"For me that game was special," Lloreda said. "The last time we played them, I played the worst game of my life. I came to play with all my heart today."

LSU (21-9) has won seven straight, while Florida (24-7) has lost three in a row. The Gators have never won the SEC tournament and have been eliminated in their second game the previous five years.

Neither team could do much down the stretch. The Tigers scored just 10 points over the final 10:34, while the Gators had nine. LSU shot 55 percent from the field (27-of-49) and Florida shot 39 percent (21-of-54).

"The constant for our team, even when we had trouble scoring, was that we kept defending hard," LSU coach John Brady said. "In a game like this, the defensive intensity gets tough for both teams."

Florida, which was coming off losses to Kentucky and Georgia, hoped to use the tournament to improve its seeding in the NCAA tournament.

Ronald Dupree led LSU with 24 points.

"I thought that in the first half we had no answer for Dupree and in the second half we had no answer for Lloreda," Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

Matt Bonner led Florida with 15 points, Bonell Colas added 11 and Walsh had 10 points.

LSU had a 40-27 halftime lead, but Florida's man-to-man defense early in the second half troubled the Tigers. The Gators opened the half with an 11-2 run, but the Tigers fought back with a 12-6 spurt to go up 54-44 with 13:09 left.

Brady was whistled for a technical with 12:23 left as he protested the lack of a traveling call. Bonner made both free throws and the Gators scored eight straight points to pull to 54-51 with 10:58 remaining.

But the Gators did not hit another field goal until Anthony Roberson's layup with 5:20 left. During that stretch, LSU scored only six points as Lloreda missed three free throws and the Gators made three, narrowing it to 60-56.

"We were not making the shots and LSU was taking advantage of that," Bonner said.

Justin Hamilton stole an LSU pass and dished it off to Roberson, who took it the length of the court for a layup that put Florida within one, 62-61, with 2:32 left. It was the last time Florida would score.

Florida opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers and took an 11-2 lead over the first four minutes of the game.

LSU (21-9) - Dupree 11-15 1-2 24, Lloreda 8-10 5-11 21, Bright 1-5 0-0 3, Whipple 0-0 1-2 1, Temple 4-13 0-0 9, Mitchell 1-4 0-0 2, Hudson 2-2 0-0 5, Bridgewater 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-49 7-15 65.

FLORIDA (24-7) - Roberson 3-12 0-0 7, Bonner 4-10 4-4 15, Walsh 4-8 0-3 10, Lee 3-4 1-3 7, Hamilton 2-5 0-0 4, Moss 1-1 2-3 4, Nelson 1-4 0-0 3, Drejer 0-3 0-0 0, Colas 3-7 5-6 11. Totals 21-54 12-19 61.

Halftime-LSU 40-27. 3-Point goals-LSU 4-13 (Dupree 1-1, Hudson 1-1, Bright 1-4, Temple 1-5, Mitchell 0-2), Florida 7-21 (Bonner 3-5, Walsh 2-3, Nelson 1-4, Roberson 1-6, Drejer 0-1, Hamilton 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-LSU 36 (Lloreda 15), Florida 29 (Walsh 8). Assists-LSU 16 (Whipple, Hudson 4), Florida 7 (Walsh, Hamilton 2). Total fouls-LSU 16, Florida 17. A-16,548.

Mississippi State 73, Mississippi 64

NEW ORLEANS - Mississippi State began the quest to repeat as Southeastern Conference tournament champion with a typically defensive performance, beating Mississippi 73-64 Friday in the quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs (20-8) looked every bit like the team that ranked second in the SEC in points allowed. They advanced to meet LSU, a 65-61 winner over No. 7 Florida, in Saturday's semifinals.

Using its advantage in height and bulk, State rarely let the Rebels (14-15) get inside. While Ole Miss was hoisting long jumpers, the Bulldogs were making dunks and layups.

Mario Austin, who announced earlier in the week he will return for his senior season, scored 19 points. Derrick Zimmerman and Timmy Bowers added 14 points apiece.

Mississippi State made 23-of-39 shots from the field, a 59 percent success rate that could be attributed largely to 34 points in the lane. On the other hand, Ole Miss connected on just 23-of-60 (38.3 percent), managing a measly 16 points in the paint.

Auburn 66, Tennessee 53

NEW ORLEANS - Auburn has at least one more game in the Southeastern Conference tournament, thanks to a 66-53 victory over Tennessee Friday night.

But both the Tigers and the Volunteers hope they have more games ahead in the NCAA tournament as well.

Auburn (20-10), which had not made the NCAA tournament since 2000, was looking for a good enough showing in its first SEC tournament game to erase the memories of an embarrassing 22-point loss at Mississippi State on Saturday. The Tigers, 38th in the RPI, felt they had to have at least one more win to earn an NCAA invitation.

"I'm not on the committee," Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. "I don't know, what do you have to do? We did it in the regular season. We've done it in the conference tournament. What do you have to do?"

Tennessee (17-11) has to hope its 9-8 conference record will offset a 51 RPI and a lack of quality non-conference wins.

"I think this team is NCAA bound," said Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson. "We have too many good wins. I believe we have more season ahead of us."

Even getting past the quarterfinal round would have been a coup for Tennessee, which is the only SEC team since the conference expanded in 1992 that hasn't made an appearance in the semifinals.

Marco Killingsworth led Auburn with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Marquis Daniels scored 12 and Lewis Monroe added 10. The Tigers will play Kentucky (27-3) today.