Anthony Hickey has made the shot dozens of times this season.
This one was special.
The freshman point guard made a running floater in the lane with 1.4 seconds left to push LSU past No. 23 Mississippi State, 69-67, in overtime Tuesday night.
“I came off the pick up top, and the shot was there,” Hickey said. “I saw the clock at five seconds and knew I had to let it go. I floated the ball up there. It only hit net.”
The shot capped off a typical seesaw battle between the two squads. LSU (15-10, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) and Mississippi State’s last five meetings have now been decided by 11 points overall.
MSU (19-7, 6-5 SEC) exploded out the starting gates to a 30-13 advantage in the first 14 minutes.
“We were just out of sorts early on, and I think it was uncharacteristic of us,” said sophomore guard Ralston Turner.
The Tigers only scored eight points in 13 minutes after posting five in the game’s first minute. But LSU ramped up the defensive effort and drained timely shoots to cut State’s lead to seven after Turner’s 3-pointer to end the first half.
LSU then burst out of the halftime locker room with a 7-0 run, and it was game on from there.
But the Bulldogs stretched their lead to nine points at the 11:27 mark of the second half.
Then Turner took over. The sophomore scored nine of the next 13 points to lift LSU to a 54-50 lead by the six-minute mark. Turner finished with 17 points, including two crucial three-pointers.
“Ralston hasn’t let misses discourage him,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson
Even with Turner’s treys, the final minutes belonged to Hickey and junior center Justin Hamilton. Despite missing a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation, Hamilton scored nine straight points for LSU at the end of regulation and to open overtime.
“I have the range on the 3-pointer, but I just kept my head up,” said Hamilton, who finished with 14 points.
With 22 seconds remaining in OT, Hickey knifed through the lane for a layup that gave the Tigers a four-point lead and seemingly sealed victory.
But Bulldogs junior forward Renardo Sidney nailed a contested 3-pointer with 12 seconds to play. Turner threw the ensuing inbounds pass away, setting up State guard Brian Bryant’s 1-for-2 effort at the free throw line that tied the game and set the stage for Hickey’s heroics.
“I don’t know how many lives we’ve got, but we found a way to win,” Johnson said.
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected].