The Tigers were noticeably outrebounded in the first half of their game against Ole Miss.
So noticeable, one of the referees told senior guard Garret Temple when LSU returned to the court at the start of the second Half down 37-32. “He said, ‘You know they had 24 rebounds,” Temple said. “‘Y’all only had 13.'” The Rebels outrebounded the Tigers, 24-13, in the first half, and the 11 offensive rebounds corralled by Ole Miss gave them 15 second chance points to LSU’s zero. “In crunch time we just wanted to guard, and we just wanted to make sure we rebounded the ball and only let them get one shot at the basket,” Temple said. LSU senior guard Marcus Thornton had that in mind in the second half, pulling down all eight of his rebounds in the second frame to spark a 13-0 run with a little more than seven minutes left in the game to help the Tigers earn a come from behind victory, 73-66. Thornton scored five straight points with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the second half of the game to pull the Tigers within three points of the Rebels. He hit a 3-pointer to to begin the run. “When I got it I wasn’t planning on shooting it until Garrett said ‘Shoot it man shoot it’,” Thornton said. “It just when off my hands, and it just went in.” Thornton, who finished with 22 points, then converted a layup to close the gap to 59-62. LSU senior center Chris Johnson, who was scoreless in the Tigers’ 97-94 double overtime victory at Mississippi State, hit a jump shot to pull the Tigers within one with 4:52 remaining in the game. “Chris Johnson really stepped up down the stretch and made some plays when the clock was running down offensively, ” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. LSU junior forward Tasmin Mitchell, coming off a career-high 41 points against the Bulldogs, hit two free throws to give the Tigers their first lead since the first half.Mitchell finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.Thornton stretched the Tigers’ lead to three after a layup and Chris Johnson, who finished with 12 points and six blocks, gave the Tigers expanded the gap with another Jumper to put the Tigers up, 67-62. “Chris Johnson made two really huge plays,” said Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy. “One from off the block and he stepped out, but really the back-breaker was the 18-footer.” LSU was without one of its key players in sophomore point guard Bo Spencer, who sprained his ankle against Mississippi State.”Anytime you lose your point guard it takes away from your continuity and rhythm,” Trent Johnson said.Temple started at point guard for Spencer, and senior Terry Martin started at the other guard. He scored 11 points and blocked three shots.Temple dished out nine assists to match his season high, which he set against the Rebels in the team’s first meeting on Jan 17. “As a team, we have a lot of interchangeable guards,” Temple said. “Since they were playing a zone [defense], it was not that tough to run different positions.”
 
 
 
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Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]