SEATTLE (AP) — This was a homecoming Trent Johnson would like to forget.
The LSU coach and Franklin High School of Seattle graduate saw the opposition head to the free throw line 13 times more than his Tigers as Washington State held on to win 72-70 in overtime in the Cougar Hardwood Classic on Tuesday night.
Leading Tigers scorer Tasmin Mitchell never went to the line.
“I am frustrated,” Johnson said. “Tasmin Mitchell, we run him in the post, we run him on the perimeter, and he don’t shoot a free throw. I’m not taking nothing away from Washington State. They have one of the best players in the country. How can you play a game like that, as aggressive as games like that, and you not shoot a free throw? …”
“You got two good basketball teams playing, you got two good teams playing, you got great kids out there, and you’ve got guys in the way that aren’t even involved in the game.”
The Tigers committed 28 fouls. Forward Storm Warren managed to play only 21 minutes before fouling out. LSU (8-3) held the Cougars to just 39-percent shooting from the field, but Washington State (10-2) attempted 40 free throws.
“They were 19 out of 49 (from the field) and they were 3 of 15 from (3-point range), so I got to believe we did a decent job defensively,” Johnson said. “But you’re 31 of 40 from the free throw line, so there’s your basketball game.”
WSU coach Ken Bone agreed that the game was called tightly.
“Lot of fouls,” Bone said.
“I thought both teams played hard, but it was a clean game. Just two teams that were fighting and scratching to pull out a win. We’re just very, very fortunate to come out ahead.”
Bo Spencer missed a contested 3-pointer over Marcus Capers in the closing seconds of overtime, enabling the Cougars to hang on.
Klay Thompson, despite a relatively cold shooting night from the field, led Washington State with 26 points, 20 in the second half.
Thompson hit two free throws with 47.8 seconds remaining in the extra period to give Washington State a 72-68 edge.
Spencer drove the length of the court to pull the Tigers back within two points. Thompson was called for a charge with 8.2 seconds to play, giving LSU one last chance.
“I’m proud of Klay that he stuck with it, and at the end of the day, he was able to score some big buckets for us,” Bone said.
Thompson has scored at least 20 points in all but two games this season.
“That’s what big players do,” Reggie Moore said of Thompson. “We knew he was going to come through. Every time he misses a shot, even in practice, I tell him every game to just keep shooting because you’re gonna make them. He’s a great shooter, and that’s what great shooters do.”
With Thompson struggling early, Capers and Nikola Koprivica picked up the scoring to give the Cougars a 36-30 halftime lead.
“They made us look ugly a number of times during the game,” Bone said. “Part of that was due to their defense and the fact that Klay wasn’t hitting shots. When he’s not hitting shots, it makes our offense look pretty bad.”
Spencer drained a jumper from the left wing over Thompson to give LSU a 62-60 lead with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. A Thompson 3-point shot missed and was recovered by the Tigers’ Chris Bass, forcing the Cougars to foul with 16.9 seconds to go. Bass missed both free throws.
Washington State forced overtime when Moore went the length of the court before dropping a pass inside to DeAngelo Casto for a lay-in to tie it at 62-62 with seven seconds remaining.
Casto finished with 13 points and eight rebounds for WSU. Moore, a freshman from Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, added 12.
Spencer paced LSU with 23 points, and Tasmin Mitchell added 18 points and 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year.
 
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