The LSU Tigers fell to the No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, 83-75, to fall to 14-8 on the season and 9-6 in SEC play.
It was a tale of two halves for the Tigers on Saturday as LSU looked poised to pick up a strong road win for its NCAA Tournament resume at halftime, leading 37-32.
The Tigers got the scoring started in the second half as freshman guard Cameron Thomas scored to give LSU a seven-point lead.
However, the Razorbacks slowly chipped away at LSU’s lead and took their first lead since the game’s opening basket, five minutes into the second half when Moses Moody made both of his free throw attempts.
The two teams went back and forth a bit over the next few minutes, with Arkansas maintaining a slight lead until the Razorbacks went on a 12-1 run over a two-minute period which broke the game open and gave them a 14-point lead with around nine minutes remaining.
Arkansas would lead by as many as 21 points in the second half with little resistance from LSU. The Tigers made a run in the closing minutes, but it was far too late, and the result was a second straight loss.
Thomas led the Tigers — and all scorers — with 25 points. Sophomore forward Trendon Watford scored 16 points and led LSU with seven rebounds.
Junior guard Javonte Smart scored 15 points. Junior forward Darius Days struggled on Saturday, going scoreless and missing all eight of his field-goal attempts. Days played just 18 minutes as he was limited due to foul trouble.
The Tigers have two games remaining in the regular season, as Vanderbilt comes to Baton Rouge on Tuesday and LSU travels to Missouri next Saturday.