Kentavious Caldwell-Pope lived up to his All-American status, pouring in 22 points for Georgia as the Bulldogs (7-10, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) handed LSU its fourth consecutive conference loss, 67-58 on Saturday.
Sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III showed no ill effects of his nagging ankle injury as he powered his way for 16 points and 14 rebounds, but the Tigers (9-6, 0-4 SEC) couldn’t overcome 21 turnovers as they suffered their third consecutive road loss.
“It’s hard to win basketball games, home or away, any time you have those type of turnovers” said LSU coach Johnny Jones on his postgame radio show. “[Georgia] did a good job of capitalizing on it.”
Down by as many as seven early in the second half, LSU stormed back to within a bucket as it moved into its full court press, forcing three straight Georgia turnovers, capped off by an Anthony Hickey 3-pointer.
The sophomore struggled from the field all evening, connecting on just 3-of-10 from behind the arc, but paced the Tigers with five steals to go along with 12 points.
“I thought we were really effective in terms of our full court press,” Jones said. “I think it served its purpose. I think we expended a ton of energy running it and putting it on early.”
The Tiger press worked consistently in the backcourt, forcing Georgia into two time violations in the second half as LSU tried to claw its way back.
But Caldwell-Pope proved simply too much for the Tigers to handle as the former McDonald’s All-American shot 50 percent from the field, made all six of his free throws and had six steals on the defensive end.
Junior guard Donte’ Williams chipped in 14 points for the Bulldogs as it held LSU to only one field goal through the final 6:44 of the game, sealing the Tigers fate, leaving them as the only SEC team without a win in conference play.
“I thought our guys did a great job in terms of competing,” Jones said. “If they continue to do that, we’ll continue to get better.”
Freshman guard Malik Morgan made the most of his sixth career start for LSU, stepping in for injured senior Charles Carmouche. The River Ridge native pumped in a career high 11 points, including nine in the first half, before fouling out in the final miinutes of the game.