The Tennessee men’s basketball team had its share of offensive troubles Saturday in Baton Rouge, and those woes spelled defeat for the Volunteers in a Southeastern Conference loss at the hands of LSU.
The Tigers pulled away in the second half to capture a 78-65 victory at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
The Volunteers (14-5, 7-5 SEC) struggled offensively out of the gate and made only nine field goals over the first 20 minutes of the contest.
Still, Tennessee only trailed 31-26 at halftime due to its defense holding the Tigers’ Cameron Thomas to just seven first-half points.
Thomas, who was 1-for-6 from the field in the first half, came to life after the break as he finished with a game-high 25 points for LSU (13-6, 8-4).
Jaden Springer led the Vols with 21 points. Santiago Vescovi added 13 points and converted three 3-pointers.
Keon Johnson finished with 10 points.
Springer and Josiah-Jordan James each had six rebounds for Tennessee. James finished the game with nine points for the Vols, who shot just 35.5 percent from the field in the contest.
[vertical-gallery id=35593]