The LSU Men’s Basketball team took on UT Arlington in the PMAC on Friday. The Tigers stayed on top for almost the whole game until the Mavericks came back to compete in the second half.

Forward Mwani Wilkinson came out of the gate strong with a three-pointer with an assist from KJ Williams. Their lead grew and in the second half, they were up by their largest lead of nine points. However, LSU fell short around six minutes later with a three-point jumper from the Mavericks.

“They hit us with a pretty good lead there. We were kind of winded,” KJ Williams said. “But we had to dig deep and just go out and play hard, play hard on defense and get stops on defense so you can run and get open buckets. We just had to come here as whole, as a team, to just come together to play defense.”

Although the Tigers struggled defensively, they pulled themselves together to reclaim their lead. After only three minutes of being down, Trae Hannibal made the free-throw that tied the game. From there, it was all purple and gold.

“The goal is to win the game. I think sometimes you see the frustration or disappointment on players’ faces that we haven’t played better or that we don’t have a 20-point lead,” Head Coach Matt McMahon said. “But the goal in that moment is to win.”

With a final score of 63-59, the LSU players showed their ability to fight until the end. Moving forward, their mindset is to keep their competitive spirit even when they are in the lead.

In their next matchup, the purple and gold will look for a win on the road against Wake Forest on Dec. 10.