According to LSU interim coach Butch Pierre, LSU junior guard Marcus Thornton was “feeling it” when his Tigers faced Georgia on Sunday afternoon in the PMAC.
“He didn’t force as many shots today,” LSU interim coach Butch Pierre said. “Sometimes he forces the issue when he’s ‘feeling it’ as he says. When [Thornton] gets in a rhythm like that, he’s a pretty good basketball player.”
Thornton scored 36 points in the 71-64 win, and the Tigers are now on a three-game win streak – their longest of the season.
“I told myself I had to come out and play good today in order for us to win,” Thornton said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence built up in us that we can win the rest of the games.”
Thornton led all scorers and added 10 rebounds and two assists.
“[Thirty-six] points speaks for itself,” said junior guard Alex Farrer. “I don’t think I have [36] points in my career, but he’s a good player. He can get his shot off at any time, and 10 rebounds for a [6-foot-4-inch] guard is impressive. All you can say is he’s a big time player.”
The Bulldogs lead early and looked as if they would run away with the game, but the Tigers clawed their way back from being down by as many as 16 points to trail by only three at halftime.
“We all know that [Georgia junior guard Billy] Humphrey and [junior guard Terrance] Woodbury are real experienced guards,” Pierre said. “Give Humphrey that much space, and he can make shots. They hit a lot of threes early and got us back on our heels.”
LSU shot only 32 percent from the floor during the first half while Georgia shot 44 percent.
Georgia’s early lead was largely because of Humphrey’s efforts. The sharp-shooting junior was a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range in the half. He cooled off in the second half and only made one more 3-pointer on four attempts.
Early in the second half LSU tied the score at 36 after a 3-point play by Thornton.
A few possessions later, the Tigers took their first lead since the 16:37 mark of the first half after freshman forward Anthony Randolph’s alley-oop dunk.
Randolph was assessed a technical foul on the play for hanging on the rim.
During the next three minutes there were six lead changes between the two teams. Georgia emerged from the span with the lead and held onto it for more than six minutes.
Problems arose for Georgia with 13:20 remaining in the game when senior guard Sundiata Gaines was ejected after a scuffle with Farrer.
Gaines, who entered the game averaging 15 points per game, was held to four points on 2-of-7 shooting after a stingy defensive effort form LSU junior guard Garrett Temple.
“I don’t know what happened when they viewed it on the camera,” Pierre said. “It might have been out of frustration because at that point he only had four points because [Temple] had shut him down all night. I was excited about that moment because then I could put [Temple] on Humphrey.”
LSU took the lead for good with 6:16 remaining in the game as junior center Chris Johnson scored on a jumper from the wing.
Johnson scored six points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the win, and Randolph added 19 points and five rebounds for the Tigers.
Humphrey led the Bulldogs with 26 points and added 5 rebounds.
—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]