An unlikely scorer led Oklahoma (20-10) past LSU (18-11) in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament and put an end to a tumultuous season for the Tigers.
Brandon Foust, a 6-foot-6 freshman forward who was averaging 3.2 points per game, poured in 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field in leading the Sooners to a 70-61 victory in Norman, Okla.
Six-foot-eight junior forward Johnnie Gilbert, who was only averaging five points per game coming into the game, scored 11.
LSU lost seven of its last eight games without departed senior forward Jaime Lloreda, who left the team to recover from a foot injury. Lloreda was the team’s leading scorer and the second-leading rebounder in the country.
After Lloreda’s departure, the 2004 Southeastern Conference Freshmen of the Year, Brandon Bass, was asked to shoulder even more of a load and it seemed apparent the Sooners were aware of that.
Everytime Bass touched the ball, the Sooners quickly double-teamed him in the post, and he finished with 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting.
The Tigers started the game out tight and quickly fell behind 5-0 before 8,817 people at the Lloyd-Noble Center
But after exchanging baskets to make the score 7-2, LSU reeled of a 12-1 run to jump out to 14-8 lead.
LSU led 17-12 at the 10:09 mark, but then the Sooners went on an 18-5 run to close out the half and led 30-22 at intermission.
The teams traded baskets throughout the first part of the second half until Oklahoma took a 49-37 lead with 10:03 seconds remaining in the game.
LSU shaved the lead to six points with three minutes remaining off two Bass free throws and it appeared the Tigers had a chance to make it a game.
Junior guard Xavier Whipple hit a 3-point basket with 1:15 left to tighten the lead to five and after Oklahoma’s freshman guard Drew Lavender missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Tigers had a chance to draw even closer.
But Antonio Hudson and Darrel Mitchell both missed 3-point shots that all but ended the Tigers bid for a comeback.
Hudson scored 16 on the game while Mitchell chipped in 12 points.
LSU outrebounded the Sooners 40-30 and had 23 second chance points compared to OU’s four. But the Sooners’ unlikely heroes were too much for the Tigers, who now enter next season with every player who received meaningful playing time in Wednesday’s game returning.
“We’re going to do a lot of developing with this team and the chemistry of it,” said LSU coach John Brady on his post-game radio show. “They’ve all grown up a great deal and faced some adversity, they’ve handled it well, they’ve never given up, they’ve never quit and the talent is there. What we need to do now is just get physically a little but stronger, make better decisions and execute in critical moments and we’re going to have a good basketball team.”