LSU holds off Arkansas, 71-65
Two days after being waxed by top-ranked Kentucky at home, the LSU men’s basketball team returned to practice staring up at a 2-5 start in Southeastern Conference play with a six-day layoff before its next game.
The Tigers had to get back to feeling good about themselves.
“After our last game against Kentucky, we were pretty fragile, make no mistake,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said. “They found a way to fight through during the course of the week.”
There was more fighting to be done Saturday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Arkansas kept coming after the Tigers after falling behind by 10 early in the second half, but LSU never lost the lead in a 71-65 win that took all 40 minutes to secure.
Ridding itself of a three-game losing streak, LSU (13-9, 3-5) started February on the right end of things after winning only two of six against a brutal January slate. Arkansas (16-7, 4-4), which beat the Tigers by nine three weeks earlier, fell to 0-7 in games played away from Bud Walton Arena.
Both teams needed the win Saturday for different reasons, but LSU faced the prospect of visiting No. 25 Vanderbilt on Wednesday at 2-6 in league play.
This was one the Tigers had to have.
“We’ve been emphasizing finishing,” LSU center Justin Hamilton said. “We got a couple of charges that were crucial. We just did an overall good job of coming together. There were a couple of times where they made a run, but I think we responded very well.”
Hamilton, who had 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, was part of a balanced LSU scoring attack that featured four scorers in double figures.
Ralston Turner went for 16 points, his most productive outing of the SEC season. Anthony Hickey and Eddie Ludwig scored 12 apiece.
LSU took the lead for good on a Johnny O’Bryant III jumper with 9:01 left in the first half, but the Tigers had a hard time keeping the Razorbacks at bay.
After allowing LSU the first six points of the second half for a 41-31 edge, Arkansas cut the deficit to three with 10:20 remaining. Mardracus Wade’s 3-pointer with 9:02 left made it a 50-49 game.
Even after LSU built the lead back to 61-54 with 3:39 to go, Arkansas pulled it back to three with 2:31 showing and was within four before Turner’s two free throws with eight seconds left put the Razorbacks away.
“You just need to make sure a team doesn’t go on a big run because when that happens, they get their confidence level up and people start making crazy shots,” Hamilton said. “We wanted to make sure we used the shot clock as much as possible and then were able to make a shot at the end of the shot clock.”
Arkansas crushed LSU with its 3-point marksmanship in the first meeting of the teams, but went just 3-for-13 from downtown in the rematch. Arkansas entered Saturday atop the SEC in turnover margin, but committed 19 turnovers against the Tigers while forcing 16.
Yet the Razorbacks were there at the end with a chance to steal a win.
A couple of big plays by Hickey, combined with LSU’s 13-for-20 performance from the free-throw line in the game’s final seven-plus minutes, proved to be the difference.
With the Razorbacks down three and 2:15 left, Arkansas guard BJ Young drove through the lane for a layup. Hickey scooted into position under the basket, planted his feet and drew the last of LSU’s four charge calls.
Instead of a one-point game, LSU retook possession still up three.
“It hurt real bad,” Hickey said. “I thought I had a concussion for a moment.”
“Hurt so good,” Ludwig added.
Later, when Hamilton got in a bind under his own basket against Arkansas’ full-court press, Hickey keyed a quick turnaround. Hamilton handed off to Andre Stringer. Stringer found Hickey. Hickey found Ludwig, who made it 69-63 with 18 seconds left.
Someone asked later if the play had a name.
“Give the ball to Hickey and let him run,” Ludwig said.
Rashad Madden hit a quick jumper to make it a four-point game again, but Turner got to the line with eight seconds remaining and provided the final margin.
Arkansas, which has beaten three ranked teams — all at home — in recent weeks, would have to wait for its breakthrough on the road.
“Everyone wants to go to the (NCAA) tournament,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. ‘If we can’t win on the road, there’s no chance we’ll get there.”
Wade scored 15 for Arkansas and Nobles added 14. Leading scorer Young (averaging 14.3 points) had only three.
The Tigers can now turn their focus to the rest of a February slate featuring four more home games. It’s a far cry from the meat-grinder they faced to begin the SEC season.
At least on paper.
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Vanderbilt.