The LSU men’s basketball team has experienced many ups and downs during its roller coaster season.
The first half against Ole Miss on Saturday was on the down side.
The Tigers shot 29.6 percent from the field in the first half, their second-worst in Southeastern Conference action, and finished with a season-low 23 points at the break.
But then the sleeping Tigers woke up.
“We told each other at halftime that something had to change,” said LSU junior guard Keith Hornsby.
And after the 15-minute break, everything did.
The Tigers erupted for 50 points in the second half — their most since the season-opener against Gardner-Webb — and displayed the resiliency they’ve shown all season in a 73-63 win against the Rebels at the PMAC.
Saturday was the third-consecutive win for LSU (21-8, 10-6 SEC) and fourth in the last five games. More importantly, it bumped the Tigers into sole possession of fourth place in the SEC standings ahead of Ole Miss and Georgia with two games to go.
But unlike the first two games of the streak, LSU endured a bit of a scare before prevailing in the end.
The Rebels (19-10, 10-6 SEC) played with an abundance of energy in the first half, constantly shifting defensive schemes to confound LSU.

LSU coach Johnny Jones said the strategy worked.
“Ole Miss had a huge part on how we played offensively in the first half,” Jones said. “They are hard, tough to score on and they made sure that we played over the top of them. They did not make things easy when they kept switching the defensive plays up.”
Sophomore forward Jarell Martin wasn’t as forgiving toward his team as Jones.
“We didn’t come out in the first half playing with that effort and that fire that we play with each game,” Martin said.
The Tigers’ offensive struggles temporarily masked their work on defense, which freshman guard Jalyn Patterson said was the team’s primary focus heading into the conference clash.

LSU held the high-scoring Rebels to 27 points in the first half, their third-fewest in league play this season, on 35.7 percent shooting from the field. The Tigers also forced eight turnovers, with four coming in an 8-1 spurt that erased an 11-point deficit going into the break.
“We got off to a slow start [offensively] in the first half, but that wasn’t our worry,” Patterson said. “Our worry was on the defensive end. We just stuck with it, and in the second half, we knew the shots would fall.”
It was all LSU after halftime, thanks in large part to a historic performance from sophomore guard Tim Quarterman.
Four Tigers scored at least 10 points in the second half. Quarterman led the way with 12 on 4-of-5 shooting from both the floor and the free throw line.
Quarterman finished the game with 18 points, 10 boards and 10 assists, giving him LSU’s first triple-double since Shaquille O’Neal recorded his last of six on March 19, 1992, against BYU.
But Quarterman, who played despite rolling his ankle in practice the day before, wasn’t even the most excited player on his team following his historic feat.
“My teammates celebrated more than me,” Quarterman said. “It’s special as a player when your teammates are excited about stuff like that.”
The victory gave the Tigers their 21st win of the season — their most since LSU’s last NCAA Tournament team in 2008-09. It’s only the second time in the last nine years the Tigers have won more than 20 games.
The victory also guaranteed Jones his first winning season in SEC play in three years at the helm.
But the year’s not over yet. LSU still has two regular season games to play and the SEC Tournament.
After his team overcame its worst first half of the season with perhaps its best second half, Quarterman said he doesn’t think that’ll be a problem.
“It just comes with the season,” Quarterman said. “I think we’re growing up as a team and getting more experience game by game. Everybody has high spirits about winning the basketball game, and we never give up.”
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR.