By Patrick Clay, Sports Showtime web assistant / reporter
NEW ORLEANS – LSU gave #1 Kentucky all they could handle, but the Wildcats pulled away late to defeat the Tigers 60-51, eliminating them in the 2nd round of the Men’s SEC Tournament.
“Tough, tough, tough loss,” said LSU head coach Trent Johnson after the game. “We had some shots that didn’t go down for us.”
The 8th seeded Tigers kept the score close all game, never trailing by double-digits, and were even winning 35-30 early in the 2nd half. But after forward Johnny O’Bryant and guard Ralston Turner fouled out later in the contest, Kentucky began to pull away.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari said he was impressed with LSU’s effort.
“(LSU) didn’t play a single down of zone defense, because they didn’t have to, they played aggressive,” Calipari said. “The game was a physical war.”
LSU guard Anthony Hickey, the former Mr. Basketball coming out of high school in Kentucky, paved the way for LSU’s strong effort with 10 points, 4 assists and 5 steals. Turner also added 10, and guard Andre Stringer notched 11 points.
Senior forward Storm Warren led LSU with 14 points to go with 6 rebounds, in what potentially could have been his last collegiate contest. Warren said after the game he didn’t want to leave anything on the court.
“I didn’t want my season to end,” Warren said. “I came out here and laid it on the line.”
Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led all scorers with 19 points, with 9 coming from the charity stripe. Terrence Jones added 15, while Doron Lamb had 12 points. Freshman forward Anthony Davis had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds to go with 6 blocks.
Despite the loss, Johnson doesn’t think his team’s season deserves to end.
“I feel like, with our play this year, we are definitely worthy of the postseason,” Johnson said.
LSU will now wait to see if the NIT decision panel agrees, as the Tigers aren’t considered to be potential NCAA Championship Tournament candidates. Calipari said LSU is “absolutely” worthy of an NIT bid.
Selection day for the tournament is Sunday, March 11th at 8 pm, airing on ESPN.
Contact Patrick at [email protected]
