Winthrop (5-7) gave LSU (10-1) all it could handle through most of Saturday’s game, but the Tigers managed to break away towards the end of the contest, defeating the Eagles 89-81. Back-to-back tight games against mid-major opponents won’t reassure fans heading into conference play, but LSU did manage to avoid an upset for a second straight game.
After jumping out to an early nine-point lead, LSU became stagnant on offense as Winthrop’s shooters came to life. Two minutes later, the Eagles had turned a nine-point deficit into a one-point lead, capped off by back-to-back threes from Winthrop guard Cory Hightower. Hightower would finish the first half with 14 points. He was a nightmare for the Tigers to deal with all night from behind the arc.
Along with that, KJ Williams had just two first-half points thanks to early foul trouble. The guards handled most of the scoring during the period with varying degrees of efficiency. Cam Hayes, Justice Hill and Adam Miller combined for 23 of LSU’s 38 first-half points, but Miller once again struggled from the field, shooting 2-of-9 (1-of-6 from three) through the period.
They went into the break trailing by one, and their opponents would not let up easily coming out of it. Much of the second half was a back-and-forth affair, with the continued efficiency of Hayes and a quick resurgence from Williams being the main things keeping the Tigers in the game.
Hayes would be the one to kick off the 14-3 run that finally allowed the Tigers to escape an embarrassing loss, scoring five points on back-to-back possessions to increase their lead from one point to six with six minutes remaining. Their lead grew as high as 12, eventually proving to be just enough for them to scrape by.
In his second straight start, Hayes concluded with 25 points on 73% shooting from the field and 66.7% shooting from three. Williams added 18 (16 in the second half), playing most of the second half despite entering it with two fouls.
Matt McMahon wasn’t too excited about his team’s performance in the first half, discussing the lack of ball movement and consistent “hero shots” as aspects that warranted adjustment in the second. Those adjustments were made, and McMahon gave his team credit for pulling it out in the end and playing much better in the second half.
“I thought we played the game the right way offensively,” McMahon said on the second half. “The ball moved side-to-side, a lot of great screens, we had 13 assists on our 21 baskets and shot 68-percent from the floor. Overall, I thought it was a great team win and a fun game to watch.”
The Tigers will face off against East Tennessee State next Wednesday, their last matchup before the start of the conference play.
