With what was once a 14-point lead chiseled down to three late in the second half, LSU did what any conventional team does – give it to the hot hand.
Senior guard Charles Carmouche ripped off 15 of his game-high 20 points in the second half while holding Texas A&M leading scorer Elston Turner to just 4-for-14 from the field to secure a 68-57 win for the Tigers (18-10, 9-8 Southeastern Conference) at Reed Arena.
The second half barrage gave Carmouche his fourth straight game with 20 or more points, while he also chipped in five rebounds and five assists.
“Carmouche is very capable of creating space and opportunities for others,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones in a post-game radio interview. “I thought [he] did an excellent job of being poised and making the right plays.”
Sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III and junior guard Andre Stringer added 11 and 10 points, respectively, despite both being saddled by foul trouble at times during the contest. O’Bryant also grabbed 10 rebounds, accumulating an SEC-leading 13th double-double.
Both teams struggled out of the gate, playing a sloppy, turnover-riddled first half that left Carmouche with only five points and LSU clinging to a 27-25 lead heading to the locker room.
As has become the norm when it struggles, LSU switched into its press to begin the second half and ripped off an 18-4 run over six minutes to push the lead to 14 and quiet the home crowd.
“I thought we allowed them to control the tempo in the first half,” Jones said. “In the second half, we did a much better job of creating tempo once we got the lead. [We] created the press and it created some easy scoring opportunities.
After the Aggies (17-13, 7-10 SEC) rallied back to within three, and with O’Bryant on the bench, senior center Andrew Del Piero and junior forward Shavon Coleman combined for three layups to get the lead back out to seven.
It was then Carmouche’s time, as he scored six straight points, highlighted by a cross over, fade away jumper that sealed the Tigers’ fourth road win of the season.
“I didn’t think our guys got rattled at all,” Jones said. “I thought they stayed focus, stayed attention to detail and made some big plays down the stretch.”
The win assured LSU would finish with at least a .500 record in conference play for the first time in four seasons and put it in contention to move up in seeding for next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville.
LSU's Anthony Hickey passes over Texas A&M's J'Mychal Reese during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in College Station, Texas on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Bryan-College Station Eagle, Stuart Villanueva)
