As has been customary in Southeastern Conference play this season for the No. 21 LSU Tigers, the team’s defense was superb and held its opponent to a sub-par shooting performance. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the offense was the Achilles’ heel of the team once again. University of Georgia senior guard Levi Stukes drained his fourth 3-pointer of the game with :00.6 remaining to give the Bulldogs (13-6, 5-2) a 57-54 win against the Tigers (13-7, 2-4). Georgia held LSU scoreless in the final 4:59 of the game. The loss was the third-straight for LSU and all but ensures that the Tigers will drop out of the Associated Press poll for the first time this season. Junior forward Glen Davis finished the game with 18 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high six assists. Sophomore transfer guard Terry Martin added 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. The rest of the Tigers connected on only eight field goals and scored 20 points. The Bulldogs’ hero finished with 16 points, and junior forward Takais Brown recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. LSU held Georgia to 34.5 percent shooting in the game, while the Tigers connected on 40 percent of their shots. LSU coach John Brady said the ball simply did not bounce the Tigers’ way in the final minutes of the game. “We had a two-point lead with 5:00 to go, and we can’t get a free throw to go,” Brady said. “We miss a dunk, [and] we fall down in front of our bench. We just don’t make the right decisions.” Brady said he takes responsibility for the Tigers not being able to pull out close victories. “I’ve got to do a better job of teaching this team how to win down the stretch,” he said. The Tigers started the game with a 13-2 lead. Davis had a part in LSU’s first five baskets, picking up four assists and a layup. He had four points, six rebounds and a career-high five assists before checking out of the game for the first time at the 12:10 mark in the first half. Two free throws by Brown and a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Billy Humphrey capped an 11-1 Bulldogs’ run that shortened LSU’s lead to 22-20. Brown tied the game at 27 with a layup off a missed Stukes free throw. Georgia trailed by only three points, 32-29, at halftime despite a scoreless stretch of 5:17 midway through the half. The teams went back and forth throughout the second half, with Georgia’s largest lead coming off Stukes’ game-winning shot. The score was tied at 54 when sophomore guard Garrett Temple stripped the basketball from sophomore guard Mike Mercer at the top of the key. The Tigers failed to score on the following possession, and attempted only two field goals and gave up four offensive rebounds in their game-ending scoreless drought. Brady said he looks for Tigers fans to help pull his team through the skid they have been on as of late. “Some members of this team gave a lot of people a lot of good experiences last year,” Brady said. “Now we need our people to stand up for this team and help it out and help it get back on the right track.”
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]