In what was a very heated and entertaining game in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Wednesday night, LSU came up one shot short of a victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Tigers started off strong shooting, 41% in the first half in what was a 35-35 tie at the break with a Razorbacks team that has won 14 of their last 15 games. But coach Will Wade’s squad couldn’t hold on to a late lead, falling 77-76 at Bud Walton Arena.
The Hogs only shot 38% in the first half and LSU outrebounded Arkansas 20-18 and both teams finished with seven turnovers. The second half started off as hot as the first half with LSU scoring the first seven points thanks to Brandon Murray and Darius Days.
After LSU’s hot start, though, Arkansas came fighting back and cut the lead down to one with 13:56 remaining in the game. The lead would proceed to switch back and forth multiple times until LSU went on a six-point run to make the score 63-56 with 6:31 left in the game.
That is as big of a lead as anyone would get for the rest of the game as it came down to the wire. Reminiscent of a heavyweight boxing match, both teams would trade blows for the final six minutes of the ballgame to try and come out on top.
LSU took the lead with 9:22 left and held onto it until Arkansas scored with 1:13 left. The Tigers responded to that score with a layup from Xavier Pinson to re-take the lead with 52 seconds left. Then, it was as if LSU pressed the touchpad on their Playstation controller to intentionally foul someone.
The Tigers fouled Arkansas twice in the final 46 seconds. Arkansas made 3 of 4 free throws to take a one-point lead with eight seconds left. Coach Will Wade decided not to use his final timeout as the Tigers inbounded the ball to Pinson who ran the length of the floor and attempted a layup with two seconds left, but the shot was off the mark, securing the Arkansas win.
LSU finished the game shooting 36% from the field and 21% from three-point range. The Tigers only had 10 turnovers while forcing 12 from Arkansas, and they outrebounded the Hogs 43-34, grabbing 22 offensive rebounds to Arkansas 10.
Tari Eason led the Tigers in scoring with 24 points on 14 attempts. He went 10 for 10 from the charity stripe. Darius Days was the second-highest scorer with 19 points on 12 attempts.
LSU will play its final regular-season game this Saturday against a struggling Alabama team. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m CST.
[listicle id=48440]
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.