On paper, the first half of LSU’s second round National Invitation Tournament showdown against Southern Methodist University went according to coach Johnny Jones’ script.
SMU leading scorer Nic Moore was saddled with foul trouble, all Mustang shots were being contested and LSU shredded an American Athletic Conference defense that allowed opponents to shoot only 37.7 percent during the season.
But the success — and the scoring — was short-lived.
Moore scored the first 11 SMU points in the second half as part of a 26-9 run, LSU struggled to a 38.5 percent shooting clip in the final 20 minutes and the Tigers’ season ended with an 80-67 loss at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
“I for one think [SMU] was a team that was very deserving of being in the NCAA tournament,” Jones said in his postgame radio interview. “Our guys did an excellent job of controlling the tempo in the first half and kept them at bay. But the second half, [SMU] came out with a different energy level.”
LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III led the Tigers with 16 points while senior guard Andre Stringer ended his LSU career with a 15-point outing coming on 5-of-10 shooting from behind the 3-point line.
LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey, a Dallas native, chipped in 14 points and four blocks in his return home.
The Tigers seemed untouchable at points in the first half, never trailing after freshman forward Jarell Martin buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to open the game.
Stringer buried three first-half 3-pointers, his first two coming on consecutive possessions early in the half to give the Tigers a 14-10 cushion.
The teams traded baskets before Tiger freshman guard Tim Quarterman soared for a dunk in transition, missing the shot but drawing the foul on Moore.
Quarterman canned both free throws to kickstart a 14-6 run that gave LSU its only double-digit lead of the game.
Martin punctuated the run with a thunderous alley-oop from junior guard Anthony Hickey in transition with 3:35 until halftime, forcing SMU coach Larry Brown into a timeout with his team trailing 38-28.
After O’Bryant was whistled for his second foul at the 2:42 mark, the Mustangs mounted a 7-2 run to close the half. The only Tiger points during the run were courtesy of an up-and-under layup from Mickey, and LSU took a 40-35 lead to the break.
But it was Moore who asserted himself in the second half, roaring out of the locker room to outscore the Tigers 8-1 in the first two minutes of the half to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game.
Any semblance of offense was gone for the Tigers in the second half as the Mustangs were near impenetrable in a tight man-to-man scheme, taking a 61-49 lead nine minutes into the second half after Keith Frazier nailed a 3-pointer.
LSU whittled the lead down to eight after a Mickey putback with 9:26 left, but a quick 9-2 spurt from SMU pushed the lead back to 70-55.
The game marked the end of Stringer’s four-year LSU career and senior transfer Shavon Coleman’s two-year career as a Tiger.
“Both of those guys will certainly be missed on this team,” Jones said. “I can tell you this. They left it all on the floor tonight.”
SMU Mustangs center Cannen Cunningham (15) dunks on LSU Tigers forward Jordan Mickey (25) in the first half of NIT Men's Basketball Tournament Second Round action at Moody Coliseum in University Park, Texas on Monday, March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Brad Loper ) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES
