As each previous Southeastern Conference game came to pass, LSU seemed to follow a familiar script: start out in a hole, switch to a full-court press and claw back just close enough to sniff victory before having it snatched away.
The Tigers (11-7, 2-5 SEC) had no such issues Wednesday, not even needing their trademark press as they raced out to a 17-6 lead in the opening minutes and held on for a 73-70 upset of No. 17 Missouri in the PMAC.
LSU looked nothing like the 1-5 team that entered the contest, as its lead swelled to as much as 16 using a bevy of jumpers from guards Andre Stringer and Anthony Hickey to erase any worries about a bad start.
“Before the game, we huddled up and said we ain’t had our first come-out punch,” Hickey said. “We haven’t had our best game yet. We were able to just work as a team and get the lead up in the first half.”
Going into the locker room up 39-26, LSU coach Johnny Jones realized his team needed to be wary of nationally ranked Missouri (15-5, 4-3 SEC), knowing the visiting Tigers had fight left in them.
He didn’t need to voice it, though.
“It was encouraging to hear our guys talk about ‘We need to play like we’re 13 down and not 13 up,’” Jones said. “They had a real good understanding of where we were, so I didn’t need to tell them how we needed to play.”
If they understood, the Tigers didn’t seem to heed their own advice early in the second half as Missouri quickly whittled the 13-point lead down to four within the first, highlighted by eight straight points from junior guard Phil Pressey.
Pressey, who was named the preseason SEC Player of the Year, dazzled off the dribble all evening to the tune of a game-high 25 points, all the while being harassed by Hickey on every Missouri possession.
Hickey answered his counterpart as he reeled off seven straight points out of a timeout, including a 3-pointer that stretched the lead back to nine and sent the 8,804 purple and gold-clad fans into a frenzy.
“I just talked to my team and said we were going to take whatever they were going to give us,” Hickey said. “We were able to get great open shots.”
As the Tigers each traded buckets, Missouri broke off a mini-run that cut the LSU lead down to three with just more than three minutes to go going into the final media timeout.
Out of the timeout, a Pressey jumper brought Missouri back to within three. Then the Dallas native made perhaps his only mistake of the evening, hacking Stringer as he buried a 3-pointer from the wing.
Stringer would sink the free throw to give the Tigers a seven-point cushion and momentum squarely on their bench.
“It was a great confidence builder for our team,” Stringer said. “I saw Pressey coming behind me so I just followed through. Luckily, he fouled me.”
The veteran Missouri squad didn’t stay down, reeling off five straight points to pull within a bucket with 1:06 to go. After Stringer sunk two foul shots and Missouri guard Earnest Ross buried a 3-pointer, the two-point game got a jolt of energy.
LSU sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III got behind the ensuing inbounds play for a wide open lay-up to lock up LSU’s fate – which added three more free throws down the stretch to seal the upset.
“[Jones] told me to go long,” O’Bryant said. “I saw the [defender] wasn’t ready for it so I just took off.”
O’Bryant finished with his fourth straight double-double, pouring in 14 points and grabbing 11 boards while shutting down Missouri forward Alex Oriakhi, who finished with only one point.
After his first signature win at the helm of his alma mater, Jones could only look to the future after running over to the packed LSU student section to thank them for the support.
“It was emotional, not only for myself but for the players,” Jones said. “Hopefully, we did what we needed to do tonight to bring them back out there on a consistent basis.”
