A bit too steep
Tigers rally but fall short at MSU
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Trailing by nine points Wednesday night with one minute, 10 seconds to play, the LSU men’s basketball team used a barrage of 3-pointers to get within a whisker of its first Southeastern Conference road victory.
The Tigers trailed 18th-ranked Mississippi State by only one with 13 seconds left. They had a chance to force overtime down by three with under five seconds to play.
In the end, though, the hill proved too steep to climb.
Mississippi State hung on for a 76-71 victory before a crowd of 8,681 at Humphrey Coliseum, handing LSU its fourth loss in as many SEC road games.
“That’s a hurt group in there,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said. “They fought. They were in a situation where they could have won that basketball game.”
Anthony Hickey, who finished with 16 points, was the face of a perimeter game that caught fire in the game’s final minute.
Hickey hit one 3 with 1:09 to play cutting State’s lead to 68-62, then — after forcing a State turnover on the ensuing inbounds — stepped back and struck again to make it 68-65 with 54 seconds showing.
The Tigers chose to foul State senior Dee Bost, who brought the lead back to 70-65 at the foul line.
Ralston Turner, who has struggled with his shot most of the season, then knocked down a contested 3 from the left corner with 25 seconds showing. Officials took several minutes to review replays before ruling that Turner was indeed outside the arc.
Then, after Rodney Hood hit two free throws to make it a four-point game, Hickey landed the signature shot of the LSU rally — a rainbow over Bost above the top of the key that banked off the glass, making it 72-71 with 15 seconds left.
“They were just quick shots,” LSU guard Andre Stringer said. “We took what they gave us and we went out for it. That was good for the time being. Obviously, we were down and just trying to come back.”
Reserve guard Jalen Steele knocked down two more free throws for State with 12.9 seconds left, but LSU had the ball and a chance to force overtime as Hickey brought the ball up court and met a double team above the left wing.
Justin Hamilton waited open above the top of the key. However, Hickey’s pass never found him.
Bost took the ball from Hickey and kicked it quickly to Arnett Moultrie in transition, Hickey crashing to the floor in front of the LSU bench. Johnson exploded from the bench area, drawing a technical foul.
“Let me explain to you how I am,” Johnson said. “When you have good kids and they fight and compete, and there is stuff going on out there that you don’t like, and you know what is going on, you struggle with it.”
Moultrie made two of four free throws, including two of the technical-foul variety, for the final margin.
That the Tigers had a chance at end was a testament to a strong day shooting the ball, as LSU connected on 46.2 percent of its shots in a first half it led most of the way. But they couldn’t overcome Moultrie and the State inside game.
Moultrie, one of 25 finalists for the Wooden Award given to the nation’s top player, had 28 points and 12 rebounds – both game highs.
The Bulldogs outrebounded LSU 46-26.
“Obviously, Mississippi State dominated us on the glass,” Johnson said. “We had a hard time putting a body on them.”
Stringer, who came off the bench for only the second time this season, went 4-for-7 from 3-point range to help Hickey lead LSU’s perimeter game. He finished with 17 points, his best offensive outing since scoring 20 versus South Alabama two months earlier.
Johnny O’Bryant III contributed six points and three rebounds in his first action since suffering a broken hand during practice days before SEC play began.
Hamilton had 11 points and five rebounds, but only got eight shots from the field.
“We did our best to try and fight back,” Stringer said.
Continuing a brutal stretch of games against ranked opponents, LSU returns to action Saturday against No. 1 Kentucky looking to improve on its 2-0 mark in SEC home games.
But the Tigers will certainly look back on Wednesday and wonder what might have been.
Looking to win its second straight game at Humphrey Coliseum after scoring an 84-82 upset here last year, LSU took a 4-2 lead on a Hickey layup and didn’t trail again until Steele (15 points) hit a pair of free throws for a 30-28 lead with 2:24 to play in the first half. Turner gave the Tigers the lead back when he connected on a 3 with 55 seconds left and had possession of the ball just before intermission with a chance to build on it.
The momentum shifted, however, when Moultrie stole a lazy Hickey pass and raced the length of the court to put the Bulldogs back on top 32-31 as the half came to a close.
State picked up where it left off after halftime, going ahead by as much as 12 with 14:14 to play. The lead was 11 with under four minutes to go.
But just when it appeared the Bulldogs were home free, LSU shot its way back into contention in the game’s final minute.
Almost all the way back.
Almost.
“It is really tough,” Hamilton said. “We are getting there in the end, but just not closing out. We need to focus on getting it done earlier rather than trying to come back at the end.”