One streak was broken, and another was extended for LSU in Tuesday night’s 70-67 loss to the University of Tennessee. Unfortunately for the Tigers the preferential outcome was not granted as junior forward Glen Davis’ 13-game double-figure scoring streak was broken, and LSU’s losing streak extended to six games. The Volunteers held Davis to a season-low five points as he shot only 2-10 from the field. “I told Glen after the game that I was a little bit disappointed in his approach,” LSU coach John Brady said in a postgame radio interview. “We got him the ball around the goal a couple of times, and he wouldn’t attack the goal.” Davis averaged 18.5 points per game prior to Tuesday’s loss. Davis exceeded his 10.3 rebound average with 13 rebounds against the Volunteers. “He almost got tentative offensively,” Brady said. “He got impatient. He tried to move out and took some ill-advised shots. He just didn’t play as well as we needed him to play on the road.” Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said in a postgame news conference that he tried to make the game “sloppy” to give his team an advantage. Pearl said mental preparation was a crucial part in the victory. “Twenty turnovers by LSU and 15 steals by us … we played aggressively,” Pearl said. “We had our nine-man rotation and got some helter-skelter situations. [Freshman forward] Wayne Chism and [freshman forward] Duke Crews did a tremendous job in holding Glen Davis to 2 for 10 from the field.” Brady said if Davis played “a bit better,” or similar to an “average night,” LSU may have won the game. “I’m beating myself up over this,” Brady said. “It’s been difficult.” Brady said he was pleased with the Tigers’ defensive effort despite his team’s inability to make crucial plays down the stretch. LSU held Tennessee to only 38.6 percent shooting from the field and out-rebounded the Volunteers 39-30. Brady specifically referred to the Tigers’ inability to score in response to junior guard Jordan Howell’s 3-pointer that extended Tennessee’s lead to 66-57 with 4:02 remaining in the game. “We missed better shots down the stretch than the 3-pointer their guy made, and it is not like that guy [junior guard Jordan Howell] is Pete Maravich running around out there,” Brady said in a Tennessee press release. The last time LSU experienced a six-game losing streak was during the 2001-2002 season when LSU advanced to the second round of the National Invitational Tournament before losing to Ball State University. Junior guard Dameon Mason returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 13, when sophomore guard Terry Martin took over his spot. Sophomore guard Magnum Rolle started in place of sophomore center Chris Johnson who had his first career starts in LSU’s past two games. Rolle previously started only four games while senior forward Darnell Lazare recovered from an ankle injury in December.
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