LSU falls to Kansas State in Cayman Islands Classic championship after second-half surger

The Tigers’ undefeated start came to an end in the finals at the Cayman Islands Classic.

The Tigers suffered the first loss of the [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] era on Wednesday night as they squandered a halftime lead in a 61-59 loss to Kansas State in the championship of the Cayman Islands Classic.

LSU falls to 5-1 on the season and draws a solid mid-major opponent in Wofford in its next contest on Sunday.

Once again, [autotag]KJ Williams[/autotag] led the way scoring for the Tigers. He finished with 17 points on 8 of 13 shooting with 10 rebounds — his first double-double fo he season. [autotag]Justice Hill[/autotag] finished with 12 points, while [autotag]Adam Miller[/autotag] had 11.

It was a solid shooting day for the Tigers, who were 43.4% from the field, but they turned the ball over 17 times with 14 of those coming in the second half. Despite 17 turnovers of their own and a worse shooting performance, the Wildcats managed to take advantage of enough opportunities to win the game.

Markquis Nowell led KSU with 18 points, while Keyontae Johnson — a Florida transfer — scored 16. Desi Sills matched Johnson’s scoring total coming off the bench.

With the Tigers’ undefeated start spoiled, they’ll have to refocus ahead of a home matchup with the Terriers on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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