The LSU men’s basketball team led No. 18 Arkansas for more than 32 minutes Saturday, but the Tigers found themselves trailing 78-75 with 1:17 to go.
But LSU has battled in numerous tight games this season, and the Tigers saved their most thrilling finish for the last game of the season. 
After freshman guard Jalyn Patterson tied the game with a 3-pointer with 57.8 second to go, the Tigers turned to their most reliable shooter for a last-second chance at victory. With one stroke, junior guard Keith Hornsby may have shot LSU into the NCAA Tournament.
Hornsby hit a corner 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Tigers past Arkansas, 81-78, in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon in Bud Walton Arena.
It was the second top-20 road victory of the season for the Tigers (22-9, 11-7 Southeastern Conference), who fought for their NCAA Tournament lives without the services of sophomore forward Jordan Mickey.
With Mickey nursing a shoulder injury, LSU coach Johnny Jones said others had to step up if the Tigers hoped to leave Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a win.
They did.
“I couldn’t be more pleased and thrilled with the way the guys took the floor,” Jones said. “The effort they displayed minus Jordan Mickey, how guys were really able to step up and make plays and how the bench came off and gave us some great minutes [was what we needed].”
Mickey, who injured his left shoulder after a hard fall in LSU’s loss to Tennessee on Wednesday, spent Saturday’s game against Arkansas (24-7, 13-5 SEC) watching from the bench.
But the Tigers received a lights-out performance from their other star forward — sophomore Jarell Martin — and got a spirited effort from his supporting cast.
With Mickey out, Martin never left the court. The Baton Rouge native played 40 minutes and scored 27 points against Arkansas, with 16 coming in the second half on 7-of-10 shooting. He also made a basket-saving block to prevent an open layup from going in with 26 seconds to go.
Patterson added a career-high 20 points and made six of the Tigers’ nine 3-pointers, including four in the first half. Hornsby also scored 13 points to extend his current streak of double-figure scoring games to 14. 
Off the bench, LSU junior guard Josh Gray played 25 minutes — his most in the last nine games — and chipped in 10 points and six assists, including the game-winner to Hornsby.
“Josh Gray did a tremendous job for us pushing the ball, getting in gaps and making plays,” Jones said. “Just a great all-around effort.”
LSU shot 50 percent from the floor (33-of-66) and recorded 16 assists against 14 turnovers. Despite playing without Mickey, the Tigers outscored Arkansas in the paint, 38-34.  
But it was Hornsby’s outside shooting that saved LSU in the end. 
After a timeout with 22.9 second left, Gray jogged up the court and dribbled down the game clock to nearly six seconds before making his move. Gray then ran left around a screen form Martin and found an unguarded Hornsby lurking in the corner.
Moments later, Gray wrapped his arms around Hornsby as the Tigers stormed the court to celebrate their biggest win of the season.
“What a big shot by Keith Hornsby,” Jones said. “Poised under the pressure to come out there in this type of environment and be able to knock that shot down, it was huge.”
Hornsby’s buzzer-beating shot erased another standout performance from Arkansas sophomore forward Bobby Portis, who finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass.
But Portis’ teammates didn’t provide him with much help on offense, shooting 36.7 percent from the floor (18-of-49) and miss 16 of their 23 attempts from deep.
After Wednesday’s stunning 15-point loss to the Volunteers, Jones said his team has a different vibe following its last-second victory against one of the SEC’s elite squads.
“Our locker room is totally different than it was the other night,” Jones said. “That’s the feeling that we like.”