On an afternoon commemorating perhaps the most memorable game in Pete Maravich Assembly Center history, Johnny Jones’ new crop of Tigers did their best to usurp it.
Sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III scored 24 points and LSU (16-9, 7-7 Southeastern Conference) came back from ten down with two minutes left in regulation to notch a crucial SEC win, 97-94, against Alabama in three overtimes.
“What a great college basketball game,” Jones said. “I’m really proud of our kids, the effort, the confidence and everything that they played with today.”
Junior guard Trevor Releford led all scorers with 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting, consistently creating offense for the upstart Crimson Tide (18-9, 10-4 SEC), including a 3-pointer with 6:48 remaining to seemingly put the nail in the Tigers’ coffin.
But the return of LSU sophomore guard Anthony Hickey after an almost nine minute stint on the bench sparked a 15-5 run over the final six minutes to tie the score at 69, highlighted by seven points from senior guard Charles Carmouche.
Carmouche, who chipped in 20 points and 11 rebounds, got the start and played a career-high 54 minutes just four days removed from being benched in a loss against Tennessee for not handling criticism well.
“Just sitting there watching the team struggle and knowing I could have helped and probably won the game was tough,” Carmouche said. “So I pretty much owed this one to my team.”
Two O’Bryant free throws with 54 seconds left tied the game at the end of regulation. After a Hickey steal on the ensuing Alabama possesion, O’Bryant’s jumper from the elbow as time expired bounced off the back rim and sent the game to overtime.
After Tide sophomore Nick Jacobs put Alabama ahead on an inside layup, junior guard Andre Stringer awoke from his doldrums to bury his first basket of the afternoon, a 3-pointer from the wing, to put the Tigers ahead 72-71.
Stringer, who was “a little banged up” and questionable before the contest, finished with 10 points, all coming in the overtime periods.
“I didn’t see any areas where I had good looks [early on],” Stringer said. “I got some good looks late in the game and I was able to knock them down.”
After trading free throws for the remainder of the period, Alabama took advantage of an errant pass from Hickey to set up for the potential game-winning shot.
Not surprisingly, Tide coach Anthony Grant put the ball in Releford’s hands, who missed a jumper just inside the 3-point line but was seemingly saved by sophomore Rodney Cooper, who tipped the rebound in and sent the Tide bench into a frenzy.
As Alabama spilled onto the floor, officials went to the monitor and determined Cooper’s shot was after the buzzer, reviving the shocked Tigers and riling up the 8,200 in attendance.
“I think once they thought they won … they were satisfied,” Carmouche said. “The guy standing next to me didn’t even want to play. Every time we would come in for a tip he’d be like ‘Man, can this game be over?'”
After an old-fashioned three point play from Releford cut the LSU five point lead to one in these second overtime, Stringer answered with his third 3-pointer to put LSU up 86-83 with just over a minute to go.
O’Bryant answered the call at the free throw line just a minute later, calmly sinking two shots to again make it a three point game at 88-85.
But, as it seemingly did all game, Alabama answered right back as Cooper drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key off an inbounds play, silencing the PMAC and putting LSU behind the eight-ball.
Freshman guard Malik Morgan’s 3-pointer from the corner was off the mark and history was made as the game went into a third overtime, a first in the 41-year history of the PMAC.
The Tide struck first on a Jacobs putback, but the Tigers strung together a 6-0 run to go up for good, highlighted by a Hickey 3-pointer.
Alabama got as close as two in the final minute, but junior Tiger forward Shavon Coleman sank one of two free throws with five seconds left and the Tide couldn’t get a shot off as time expired to send LSU to a .500 record in the jumbled SEC standings.
Admittedly just a little boy during the fateful night in 1978 when five LSU starters fouled out in a 95-94 overtime win against No. 1 Kentucky, Jones recalled enough to use the game as a motivation tactic before Saturday’s contest.
It didn’t quite top it, though.
“It somewhat rivaled that,” Jones said. “In terms of excitement, I think it’s on that level.”
