Call him the Honey Badger of the hardwood.
Sophomore Anthony Hickey snagged eight steals, a career high and the most by a Tiger since 1994, in LSU’s 58-54 win against Texas A&M on Wednesday night. Coach Johnny Jones said Hickey has a “football mentality,” and Hickey’s teammates called him “Hickey the Honey Badger” when discussing his playing style.
“[Hickey] is playing like a defensive back,” Jones said. “He’s done a great job of reading shoulders and eyes, and rotating and getting to the ball. And at the same time, Hickey’s really good on-ball. He’s got good hands, strong hands.”
The Tigers (10-6, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) found themselves down by 14 points less than 8 minutes into the game, prompting Jones to turn to a press defense in hopes of sparking his team. That it did, as LSU closed out the first period on a 10-0 run that was capped by a Hickey buzzer-beater to make the halftime score 28-27 in favor of the Aggies.
“I think our guys have done a tremendous job in terms of anticipating passes,” Jones said. “I think they’re really good up on the front of the press, where they’re very aggressive. … I thought the press really changed the game for us.”
The Tigers and Aggies (12-6, 2-3 SEC) would trade blows throughout the second half, but Texas A&M couldn’t make up for its 14 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. Though LSU shot only 41.7 percent from the charity stripe, junior guard Andre Stringer sealed LSU’s first SEC victory with two free throws with 13 seconds to go.
“I’ve got faith in [Stringer] as a shooter,” said sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III. “…I know when he’s stepping up to the line, he’s going to make the free throws. Andre’s a very clutch player and a very great shooter.”
Junior forward Shavon Coleman led the Tigers with 17 points, and O’Bryant followed up with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes of action. O’Bryant, who posted his fifth double-double of the season, looks to be back in top form after fighting a lower leg injury for the past few weeks.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers held Texas A&M senior guard Elston Turner, who averaged 16.1 points per game heading into Wednesday night’s contest, to only five points.
LSU will look to notch another SEC win when it returns to the court Saturday night at Kentucky, a game that will be a homecoming for Hickey, who is from Hopkinsville, Ky.
“I don’t want to leave out of Kentucky with a loss,” Hickey said. “It’s going to be big for us. We can get this second win and we’re going to keep this thing going.”
