Lineup changes and a trip to the hills of Rocky Top did little to heal the wounds the LSU men’s basketball team has collected recently. The Tigers (13-10, 2-7) dropped their sixth-consecutive game Wednesday night, falling to the University of Tennessee’s Volunteers (16-8, 4-5) at Thompson-Boling Arena, 70-67. Junior transfer guard Dameon Mason, who finished the game with three points, replaced sophomore transfer guard Terry Martin in the starting backcourt. In frontcourt, sophomore forward Magnum Rolle started in place of sophomore center Chris Johnson. Johnson, who had three points in 14 minutes against Tennessee, has averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in two starts for the Tigers. LSU committed 20 turnovers and converted on only 22 of its 49 field goal attempts. The Tigers held Tennessee to 39 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Vols, 39-30. Sophomore guard Garrett Temple’s foul trouble staggered LSU’s ability to have a good offensive flow. Temple picked up two personal fouls in the first 1:32 of the contest and finished with four points and seven assists before fouling out in the final minute of the game. Sophomore forward Tasmin Mitchell tied his career-high with 23 points. Martin was the only other Tiger in double figures with 15 points. Junior forward Glen Davis scored a season-low five points, snapping his streak of 13 straight games in double-figure scoring. Junior guard JaJuan Smith led the Vols with 15 points. Junior guard and Southeastern Conference leading scorer Chris Lofton returned to the Vols’ lineup and contributed eight points on 1-for-5 shooting. Lofton had missed Tennessee’s past four games with a sprained ankle. LSU coach John Brady said his team’s past five games, three of which were three-point losses, were great chances for the Tigers to get back near the top of the SEC West standings. “The last five [games] have really been opportunities for us,” Brady said. “We’re not able to make the right play at the right point. There were stretches in the game with six or seven minutes to go where we can’t get the big rebound.” The Vols outscored the Tigers 10-4 in the first 5:00 of the game. Tennessee’s lead expanded to as many as 10 points, but Mitchell’s 10th point of the game cut the Vols lead to seven. LSU went on a 12-4 run to shorten Tennessee’s lead to two points, but a 3-point play by with 0.7 remaining in the half secured a 39-34 halftime lead for the Vols. If not for minimal success from behind the 3-point line in the first half, the Vols’ lead could have been larger. Tennessee shot 2-for-13 from behind the arc and finished the game 5-for-21. A Davis jumper 4:26 into the second half cut Tennessee’s lead to 43-41. Lofton’s first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer, followed by a Jordan Howell 3-pointer finished off an 11-2 run that extended the Vols’ advantage, 54-43. The Tigers weathered the storm and cut the advantage to 60-55. LSU got within four points in the final seconds, but free throw shooting sealed the Vols’ third win in their past eight games.
Brady said despite the difficulties, the Tigers will not throw in the towel on the season. “We can either keep fighting, or we can give it up,” Brady said. “I’m not giving it up, and I got a sneaking hunch our team’s not either. They’re as disappointed and as frustrated as everybody is.”
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