The Tigers had their best chance yet to end their 12-game losing streak on Tuesday night on the road against Georgia.
Down one with possession in the final 20 seconds, [autotag]KJ Williams[/autotag] hit a go-ahead shot with just 11 seconds left, but Georgia’s Justin Hill answered with an acrobatic layup to retake the lead with seven seconds to play. Tyrell Ward’s inbound pass went offline, resulting in a turnover, and UGA survived 65-63 after a made free throw and missed full-court buzzer-beater shot from LSU.
The Tigers (12-14, 1-12 SEC) remain in last place in the league standings as the losing streak reaches 13 games.
Awful starts have defined LSU’s losing streak, but it avoided one this time around. Both teams struggled offensively out of the gate, but despite getting into early foul trouble, the Tigers led for most of the first half.
They had a chance to break things open against a UGA team that shot just 29.6% in the opening 20 minutes, and they led by as much as eight. But the Bulldogs came back and cut that lead to just two points at the break.
LSU’s offense struggles continued in the second, but Georgia’s reversed. UGA shot over 60% in the period and quickly retook the lead, holding it for most of the half as the script flipped.
It was a great game for Williams, who finished with a game-high 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting with nine rebounds, but no one else scored in double figures. LSU won the rebounding battle, but general sloppiness ultimately doomed the offense, which committed 19 turnovers.
The defense, meanwhile, sent Georgia to the line 26 times where it fortunately left 11 points on the table.
It was a frustrating loss for an LSU team that has gotten close but can’t get over the hump. If that’s going to happen, it will likely need to happen in the next outing on Saturday when the Tigers host one of the league’s worst teams in South Carolina.
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