PITTSBURGH — It was the same, sad tale for the LSU men’s basketball team on Thursday.
Another early lead, another late-game meltdown and another loss that perhaps shouldn’t have been.
The only difference in the Tigers’ agonizing 66-65 loss to eighth-seeded North Carolina State in Consol Energy Center was it ended their resurgent season under third-year coach Johnny Jones, and much sooner than they had hoped.
“It definitely was a heartbreaking moment, very emotional,” said LSU sophomore forward Jarell Martin. “We weren’t ready for our season to end. We worked real hard and felt like we had a great shot.”
But as painful as it was for the Tigers to watch Wolfpack sophomore forward BeeJay Anya’s game-winning hook shot slowly roll in the basket and seal their undesired fate, it was a situation they’ve been in often this season.
NC State’s game-stealing run was a familiar sight for LSU, which took a halftime lead in six of its 11 losses this season. The Tigers trailed by an average of three points at the break in four other losses and were tied with Southeastern Conference foe Tennessee after the first period, 33-33, on March 4.
In every loss except a 70-61 setback to Old Dominion way back on Nov. 21, 2014, LSU led at some point in the second half. The Tigers were ahead within the last five minutes in nine of those 10 losses and had a two-possession lead with five minutes to go in five others.
But LSU’s struggles in crunch time shouldn’t be a complete shock. On a team with only two upperclassmen in its seven-man rotation, late-game collapses are bound to happen, even if the Tigers refuse to use youth as a scapegoat.
“It could have a little bit to do with youth,” said LSU sophomore forward Jordan Mickey. “We’re still young, but we try not to use that as an excuse. We’ve won some big games and closed out games pretty well.”
But the Tigers couldn’t close out all of their games this season, and in some, they melted down altogether.
LSU built a double-digit lead in four of its 11 defeats, including a 16-point edge early in the second half against the NC State.
One of the driving forces behind the Tigers’ second-half trainwrecks was their shooting struggles from the field. In LSU’s 11 losses, the squad went 38.1 percent from the field while its opponents shot 48.7 percent.
In consecutive losses to Auburn and the Wolfpack to end the season, the Tigers made a combined 16 field goals on 46 attempts (34.7 percent) in the second half. But LSU coach Johnny Jones said there were other shooting issues than those from the field that ended his team’s season.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t execute at the line, missed 10 free throws [Thursday],” Jones said. “At the end of the day, it could have been a difference-maker in the game.”
The Tigers’ free throw woes may have been the difference-maker in nearly all their losses this season. LSU shot 61.3 percent (89-145) from the line in the second half of its 11 defeats, much lower than its 70.3 percent clip (361-513) from the charity stripe in its 22 victories.
In their last two losses, the Tigers went an abysmal 56 percent from the line after halftime and missed their final six against the Wolfpack to prematurely end their bounce-back season.
Despite LSU’s self-inflicted struggles, the Tigers still had a chance to advance to the round of 32. Even though Anya’s fate-sealing bucket sent LSU home much sooner than it had expected, the Tigers may be responsible for their own grief.
“It’s heartbreaking just to come up short in the tournament,” said LSU sophomore guard Quarterman. “We were up for most of the game. We played good. We played as a team. Those final seconds, they made a play and we just didn’t end up making enough plays.”
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR
LSU men’s basketball team’s season marred by several late-game meltdowns
March 20, 2015
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