Tag: Jordan Wright

PHOTOS: LSU men’s basketball comes back to upset No. 11 South Carolina in Columbia

The Tigers rallied from down 16 to upset South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday.

Like in the midweek game against Florida, LSU’s men’s basketball team overcame a major second-half deficit on Saturday against No. 11 South Carolina.

Unlike in that game, however, the Tigers came away with the win this time around.

Trailing by 16 in the second half, coach Matt McMahon’s team erased that lead and forced a key turnover in the final seconds. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag], who had 14 points in the game, was clutch down the stretch.

He made a pair of free throws down one that ultimately set the decisive score at 66-63. LSU moves to 13-12 (5-7 SEC) and will welcome Kentucky to town on Wednesday night for what will be its fifth straight Quadrant 1 game.

For now, here are the photos from the come-from-behind win.

PHOTOS: LSU men’s basketball’s comeback bid at Florida falls short

The Tigers couldn’t quite complete the comeback as a chance for a statement road win went by the wayside.

LSU overcame a 20-point deficit against a red-hot SEC opponent on the road on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough to win.

The Tigers men’s basketball team trailed Florida 60-40 in the second half but tied the game with less than a minute to play. Trailing by one as the final seconds ticked off, a potential open game-tying shot from [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] fell short as the Gators survived to win 82-80.

The loss dropped the Tigers to .500 as they’re 12-12 on the season, and they’re just 4-7 in SEC play after losing their last three and six of their last seven.

LSU will now prepare for another tough road game against ranked South Carolina on Saturday. In the meantime, here are the photos from Tuesday’s hard-fought loss.

Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball drops heartbreaker against Florida

LSU erased a 20-point second-half deficit, but it wasn’t enough to get a statement road win.

LSU’s men’s basketball team very nearly completed a remarkable comeback in Gainesville against Florida on Tuesday night.

After trailing by 20 points in the second half, the Tigers fought back to tie the game in the final minute. Trailing by two as the final seconds ticked away, guard [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] had a wide-open lane to the basket but rushed his shot, leaving it short as the Gators held on for an 82-80 win.

LSU had a nice start to the game offensively, but the Gators were even better. They sunk their first six shots and hit eight of their first 11, holding on to a slim 19-15 lead by the under-12 timeout in the first half.

Florida ultimately finished the half shooting 66.7%, stretching a 14-point lead heading into the locker room thanks to a buzzer-beater long two from guard Zyon Pullin.

LSU particularly struggled to defend Walter Clayton Jr., who had 14 points in the half. Will Baker led the Tigers with 13 points in the frame, but the team shot just 41.9%, though 5-of-12 three-point shooting helped them hang around.

Florida dominated early in the second half, leading 60-40 at one point. But the Gators went cold, and some clutch shooting from the Tigers got them back in the game, particularly [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] — who scored 12 for the night and 10 points in the second half.

The Tigers ultimately outshot Florida 51%-49%, but they left points at the charity stripe as they were just 13 of 21 on free throws. Wright and [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] ultimately led the team with 16 points each.

LSU missed opportunities to steal this one; a turnover down one with 25 seconds to go stands out. It also was dominated on the boards with a 43-29 rebounding margin

Now, the Tigers fall to 12-12 (4-7 SEC) after dropping their last three and six of their last seven. They’ll be back in action on Saturday with another tough road game against a ranked South Carolina team.

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Matt McMahon updates injury suffered by LSU’s Jordan Wright vs. Alabama

Jordan Wright seemed to suffer an injury in the Tigers 109-92 loss to Alabama on Saturday.

LSU Tigers wing [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] seemed to suffer an injury in the 109-92 loss to Alabama on Saturday. Wright has started in 22 of the 23 games this season for LSU and has been productive.

Wright has averaged 15 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, and a team-high 2.8 assists per game.

He finished the game with nine points on 1-of-5 shooting. LSU dropped to 12-11 overall this season and 4-6 in SEC play. After the game, coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] was asked about the status of Wright going forward after suffering an injury.

Here is what he had to say about it.

“He’s been recovering from an illness last week, but I think what happened is he got clipped on a screen coming out there in the first half,” McMahon said, per On3. “It looked like a Charley horse situation. Had the horrific fall. Was really fortunate there. I think he landed on Nelson. I think just got hit there in the quad by a knee on a screen.”

It seems as though Wright will be alright in the long haul so that is a positive for LSU.

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Matt McMahon praises LSU men’s basketball’s ‘team effort’ in big win over Arkansas

The Tigers battled injuries and illness during the bye week, but they didn’t show it on Saturday.

LSU entered Saturday’s home matchup against a floundering Arkansas team desperate for a win, and it got one.

The Tigers ended a three-game skid with a decisive, 95-74 win in a game that it controlled throughout. Now, the Tigers sit at 4-4 in SEC play and have already doubled their league win total from a season ago.

After the game, coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] praised what he called a “terrific” team effort.

“Thrilled with our players’ performance today,” McMahon said, per On3’s Matthew Brune. “I thought they were just terrific; a true team effort for 40 minutes. I thought on the defensive end, we were really locked in to the game plan and the things we needed to do. Then offensively, I thought it was just a really unselfish, disciplined performance. It’s a lot of fun to watch us play that way. Most of all, I’m really proud of our players for their response this week. The bye week didn’t go exactly as we had planned; we had some injury and illness early in the week that kind of changed up our schedule. But, I thought our guys really competed throughout the week and found ways to get better, and then came out with an 11 a.m. start today with a tough, together performance to get us a big win here at home.”

LSU’s ball movement was on display in the win. It had 17 assists to Arkansas’ 10 with [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] leading the team with six. That helped LSU score its most points in SEC play so far this season.

“That’s the key,” McMahon said of the team’s fluidity on offense. “Since December, we’ve been playing a lot faster and our spacing is a lot better, so when we move the ball and execute, we have really good players and when they play well, it allows us to score 95 points. Our efficiency was really good because of the unselfish play. A big concern was Arkansas being top five in the country in getting to the free throw line and they got there 33 times today, but we got there 28 times and made 25 of them because of the spacing and the strong drives and good decision making.”

It’s a nice win for the Tigers, who likely kept whatever outside hopes of an NCAA tournament bid remain alive on Saturday. But the real test will come on Wednesday night when they hit the road to take on a Tennessee team that’s one of the best in the conference.

“You hope it leads to more confidence,” McMahon said. “When you see the hard work and the trust they played with, you see that it works. Our guys should have confidence and we’ll keep getting better as we prepare for the next opportunity.”

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball rolls against Arkansas to end losing streak

The Tigers ended a three-game skid with a convincing home win against the struggling Razorbacks.

LSU’s men’s basketball ended a three-game skid in SEC play on Saturday at home, beating Arkansas 95-74 in a morning showdown as the Tigers move to 12-9 overall and 4-4 in league play.

LSU had a red-hot start offensively, hitting 8 of its first 9 shots from the field and five of its first six threes. A lot of that production came from [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag], who was dominant in the half and scored 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting including 3 of 4 from three-point range.

The Tigers stretched out a lead as big as 21 points, but they allowed Arkansas to cut that deficit down before half. The Hogs ended the period on a 6-0 run, but they still faced a 45-30 deficit heading into the locker room.

The second half was more of the same for LSU, which managed to stretch its lead out as wide as 28 points. Baker finished with 25 points, hitting 9 of his 11 shots from the field, while [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] scored 20 and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] added 13.

The Tigers managed to recapture some momentum heading into a crucial road matchup on Wednesday night against a Tennessee team that currently ranks fifth in the nation.

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PHOTOS: LSU men’s basketball falls short on the road against Georgia

The Tigers have now dropped back-to-back games after a 3-1 start in SEC play.

The Tigers had a chance to pick up a solid Quadrant 2 win against Georgia on Wednesday night, but they came up short in a 68-66 loss that dropped them to 11-8 on the season and 3-3 in SEC play.

[autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] made a clutch layup with 16 seconds left as the Tigers trailed by two, and he was fouled on the play. He made the subsequent free throw to give LSU the lead, and on the other end, Georgia missed a shot. But the Bulldogs got the offensive rebound, and center Russell Tchewa put in the go-ahead layup as he was fouled as well.

[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] had a shot at a game-winning three-pointer, but it rimmed out as the Tigers missed out on a Quadrant 2 win. They’ll be back in action on Saturday as they travel to take on an Alabama team that knocked off No. 8 Auburn on Wednesday night.

In the meantime, here are the photos from the disappointing loss to the Bulldogs.

Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball falls to Georgia on last-second shot

Jalen Cook’s late heroics weren’t enough to lift the Tigers past the Bulldogs.

It looked like [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] was going to be the hero for LSU.

With the Tigers trailing by two with 16 seconds to play against Georgia on Wednesday night, Cook drove to the basket to make a layup with contact. He made the subsequent free throw to give his team a one-point lead, but an and-one layup on the other end from center Russell Tchewa with 2.1 seconds left gave UGA a two-point advantage once again.

[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] got off the best three-point shot he could as the buzzer sounded, but it was just offline as it rimmed out and sealed a 68-66 win for Georgia as LSU fell to 11-8 (3-3 SEC).

The Bulldogs had all sorts of offensive issues early in the game, from missed shots to turnovers. But LSU didn’t manage to capitalize, and Georgia got hot. It ultimately shot over 50% in the half, making 9 of 11 field goals at one point as it stretched its lead as big as seven points.

A nice run before half from the Tigers managed to cut into that, but they still found themselves trailing 35-33 as both teams went into the locker room. They shot just 37.5% in the first half, though both [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and Cook scored in double figures in the first 20 minutes.

LSU dealt with some prolonged cold stretches in the second half but kept things within range. It ultimately shot 40% in the second frame as it mounted a comeback attempt, but its lead after Cook’s free throw was the only one it possessed in the final 20 minutes.

Cook finished with a game-high 21 points, while Wright scored 18 thanks to some strong three-point shooting. No one else finished in double figures, however, as LSU finished below its season scoring average.

The loss now marks two in a row for LSU, for which the road doesn’t get any easier from here in a loaded SEC. Next up will be a tricky road game against Alabama, which sits in the top 10 of the NET Rankings as of publication.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball hangs on to take down No. 22 Ole Miss

The Tigers move to 3-1 in SEC play with the win over the Rebels.

LSU earned its first ranked win of the season on Wednesday night, moving to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in SEC play with an 89-80 win over the Ole Miss Rebels in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Rebels managed to take several decent-sized leads in the first half, and the Tigers found themselves trailing by as much as seven. But in large part thanks to big halves from [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag], who had 11 and eight points in the frame, respectively, LSU took a 35-33 lead to the locker room despite shooting just 41.4% as a team.

However, the Tigers shot above 50% in the second half while Ole Miss shot just 32.4%. They stretched their lead to as much as 16 points, and though Ole Miss would cut it to single digits a few times, it never got closer than five points in the final 10 minutes.

Wright finished with a game-high 27 points, while [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] ultimately finished behind him with 16 points. The Tigers allowed big nights to stars Jaylen Murray (23 points), Matthew Murrell (20 points) and Allen Flanigan (19 points), but the rest of the Rebels struggled to get going.

LSU will be back in action on Saturday for a rematch in Baton Rouge against the Texas A&M team it upset in College Station to begin SEC play.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball’s comeback bid falls short at No. 16 Auburn

A 21-2 LSU run in the second half wasn’t enough to erase a big deficit.

The Tigers made a valiant second-half comeback effort against Auburn on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough in a 93-78 loss on the road.

It looked like things were going to get ugly in Neville Arena at first. LSU found itself down 17 at halftime, and AU led by as much as 28 in the second half. A 21-2 Tigers run flipped the script of the game, and they cut the lead to single digits, but it wasn’t ultimately enough.

LSU shot just 42.4% for the game, though [autotag]Trae Hannibal[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] each scored 18 points, while [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] scored 13 and [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] scored 12. It was a sloppy game for the offense, which turned the ball over 17 times.

The loss interrupts the Tigers’ four-game losing streak. They fall to 10-6 on the year and 2-1 in SEC play. LSU will be back in action on Wednesday when it hosts an Ole Miss team that’s 15-1 on the year.

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