The LSU men’s basketball team’s Southeastern Conference road woes continued Saturday night as the Tigers (12-7, 2-3 SEC) failed to handle No. 17 Florida (15-4, 3-1 SEC) in Gainesville, falling 76-64.
The Tigers’ defense couldn’t silence the potent Gators’ offense, which shot 64 percent in the first half. LSU’s offense couldn’t make shots consistently, shooting 44
percent on the night.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 10-4 lead four minutes into the game, but Florida caught up quickly, taking a 38-26 lead going into the break.
“We got off to a good start, but then we had a couple of guys get in foul trouble,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. “Then they had a little five-minute stretch there where we didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball, and we got sped up.”
It wasn’t all bad news for the Tigers, though.
Junior center Justin Hamilton finished with a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers in the game and added five offensive
rebounds in his 38 minutes on the court.
Johnson said Hamilton forced Florida coach Billy Donovan to adjust the way he used his post players.
“Billy didn’t want to play [sophomore center] Patric Young, but he had to,” Johnson said. “Obviously Justin was commanding a lot of attention in the post.”
Hamilton scored all of his points from the field, including a three-pointer.
“What I love about him — he plays through contact,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t whine, he doesn’t complain. But he’s out there, he’s not making any issues, he’s just playing.”
Although no Gators were close to Hamilton’s point total, Florida finished the game with five scorers in double figures.
The Gators’ junior forward Erik Murphy led Florida with 15 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field, including a trio of three-pointers.
The final score didn’t fully reflect the Tigers’ effort, as LSU finished with 14 assists — three more than Florida.
“It’s just really disappointing because the last two times on the road, we’ve played against two pretty good basketball teams … and we had opportunities,” Johnson said. “We let them get away.”
The Tigers also turned the ball over one less time than the Gators, but LSU struggled to get to the free throw line.
LSU shot just five free throws — making three — while the Gators completed 15 of their 20
opportunities from the line.
The Tigers also couldn’t find much support for Hamilton, as the guard play lacked execution.
LSU sophomore guard Ralston Turner shot 2-of-10 from inside the three-point line, and all of the Tigers’ guards combined for a 10-of-30 showing on the night.
The Tigers’ effort from behind the arc wasn’t any better, as LSU completed only 35 percent of their three-pointers.
“That’s a part of mental toughness — willing the basketball in the hoop, stepping up with confidence and knowing that you’re going to make this play against good teams and good players,” Johnson said. “We’re not doing that.”
The path doesn’t get any easier for the Tigers, as they hit the road again on Wednesday to face No. 18 Mississippi State before matching up with No. 2 Kentucky at home next Saturday.
 
 
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Contact Albert Burford at
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