On the night when LSU honored its All-Decade basketball teams, the current Tigers made sure they were the main attraction in the PMAC. The Crimson Tide rolled into Baton Rouge hard Wednesday night, but the Tigers took their punches and came out on top, 80-74. LSU junior guard Marcus Thornton delivered the final blow to Alabama with a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 77-74 with 38 seconds remaining in the game. From there, the Tigers coasted to victory on three free throws. With five minutes remaining, it had been Thornton who gave the Tigers (13-16, 6-9) their first share of the lead since early in the first half when the Baton Rouge native tied the game on a breakaway steal and dunk immediately out of an Alabama (15-15, 4-11) time out. But much of the postgame talk centered on freshman forward Anthony Randolph leading LSU with a career-high 29 points against one of the premier big men in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama junior forward Richard Hendrix, top rebounder in the SEC, was no slouch himself, chalking up an impressive 16-point, 13-rebound performance. “It’s tough,” Randolph said. “He’s a great player, and he just showed why he’s a great player. At the end of the game, he put his team on his back and tried to will them to a victory.” But it was Randolph and the Tigers who had the last laugh. The victory extended the team’s season-high winning streak to four games and pulled the Tigers back into a tie for third place in the SEC West – an impressive feat after a slow start to conference play. “We can win games,” said junior guard Garrett Temple. “Whoever we play in the SEC tournament, they’re not going to say, ‘Oh, that’s just LSU, a walk in the park.’ We’ve gained a little respect now.” The Tigers certainly proved to be more than a walk in the park for Alabama. Despite being outrebounded 24-8 and shooting only six foul shots to Alabama’s 15 in the first half, the Tigers hung tough and put together a good enough second half to win. LSU shot 15 free throws the rest of the way compared to Alabama’s two, and the Tigers outrebounded the Crimson Tide, 17-16, in the final 20 minutes. After getting into foul trouble early, LSU junior center Chris Johnson came out of the locker room swinging in the second half. “He had a lot of energy because he didn’t play as much in the first half,” said LSU interim coach Butch Pierre. “Anthony was getting buried pretty deep in there; their post guys are not long and athletic, they just use their bodies. Chris was in position from the weak side where he could come across and block some shots. His timing is great.” Johnson had six points, eight rebounds and seven blocks in the second half, including two blocks in the game’s final 20 seconds – helping to clinch the tight game. LSU’s circumstances looked bleak when Temple’s fourth foul forced the Tigers’ leader to the bench with 11:43 remaining and his team trailing, 56-51. But the Tigers persevered and came out on top, exiting the court in front of screaming fans. The fans’ most popular chant: “One more year,” to Randolph. The most popular theme for signs: to bring Pierre back as head coach permanently next season. “That was fantastic,” Pierre said of the atmosphere. “The crowd was unbelievable.” But the Tigers are already looking ahead to a weekend matchup with Pierre’s alma mater, Mississippi State, and the SEC tournament. “We’re not satisfied,” Randolph said. “We want more.”