Senior Night began like a dream and ended like a nightmare.
The LSU men’s basketball team raced to a 15-point first-half lead but couldn’t stave off a sharpshooting Tennessee squad, falling in overtime, 74-69, in the PMAC on Wednesday night.
Freshman point guard Anthony Hickey couldn’t recreate the magic from his Mississippi State game-winner two weeks ago, missing a runner at the end of regulation to leave the game tied at 60.
“It was a good pick set for me, and I had the confidence in my shot,” Hickey said. “It felt good off my hand. Sometimes they don’t fall.”
Tennessee guard Cameron Tatum hit a 3-pointer to open overtime, and the Volunteers (17-13, 9-6 Southeastern Conference) overwhelmed the Tigers (17-12, 7-8) in the extra session to complete a gradual comeback.
LSU coach Trent Johnson ran out all three LSU seniors — forwards Malcolm White and Storm Warren and guard Chris Bass — along with typical reserve Eddie Ludwig and sophomore Ralston Turner in the starting lineup.
The Tigers responded to the motivational ploy.
White poured in seven early points for his second-highest total of the season, and the LSU frontline dominated the early proceedings to stake the Tigers to a 31-16 first-half advantage that held at 11 by halftime.
But the Volunteers roared back with ruthless efficiency.
Within four minutes, Tennessee slashed LSU’s lead to three points, and the momentum never went away.
UT managed 74 points on just 49 shots, shooting 15-of-25 from the field after halftime and making 19 free throws, including 7-of-7 in overtime.
“They made transition baskets in the second half,” said Hickey, who finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers. “Defense wins, and we got caught slacking down the stretch. But credit them for knocking down shots.”
After Tennessee’s initial surge out of the locker room, the teams traded buckets for much of the second half.
The Volunteers flipped the early script on the Tigers, using a persistent post game to pester LSU in the paint.
UT junior forward Jeronne Maymon scored 14 points after the break, and freshman forward Jarnell Stokes racked up 18 points and seven rebounds with an array of spinning jumpers and twisting lay-ups.
“We had a hard time guarding in the post because we gambled,” Johnson said. “Once they got a few easy looks and had their confidence going, we were in trouble.”
Stokes finished the game 9-of-10 from the field, and the Vols doubled LSU’s scoring in the paint, 32-16.
As Tennessee picked up its game, the Tigers’ offense stalled.
LSU scored just eight points in the final eight minutes of regulation, squandering the seven-point lead it held midway through the second half.
Junior center Justin Hamilton was about the only piece of the LSU machine to work smoothly down the stretch. He finished with 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had two crucial blocks.
Warren added a quiet eight points and eight rebounds in his final PMAC outing.
“To see our team go out like that, it hurts a lot,” Warren said. “I would have loved to wrap it up with a win. I’m going to miss it here, especially ending on that note.”
Tennessee sophomore guard Trae Golden contributed 14 points for the Vols, including a crucial 3-point play that gave UT the lead for good with 1:27 to play.
The Tigers play their final game of the regular season on Saturday at Auburn, with anywhere from the sixth to the ninth seed in next week’s SEC Tournament still a possibility for LSU.
 
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Contact Chris Abshrie at [email protected]