It’s hard to say a team survived a scare when they won by double digits, but that’s just how amazing LSU played down the stretch. With seven minutes left in the game, LSU was called for a technical foul and went down by five points.
That’s when the tone of the game completely changed.
The Tigers would go on a 27-6 run to finish the game, looking completely dominant in the process. Even though this team has only played three games, there’s one thing a lot of fans can agree on: this team is different.
Ferocious on defense. Efficient on offense. In the last five minutes of the game, Liberty could do nothing to douse LSU’s momentum.
In the last five minutes of the game, we saw LSU’s true potential, and it was fun to watch.
The momentum switch started with defense. With under nine minutes left in the game, Eric Gaines would have his first second-half steal, which then translated into an eventual Efton Reid layup on the other end.
He would follow that up with another steal, which led to another layup. Then another one a minute later, which led to a Darius Days three-pointer.
In four-and-a-half minutes, LSU would have seven steals and a block that ultimately resulted in a total of 14 points and a complete shift in momentum. Gaines, who led the defensive spark with four steals within that span, credited his Coach for motivating him and his teammates to be more intense on the defensive side of the ball.
“Coach told me to go in there and bring the intensity, and that’s what I did,” Gaines stated. “Defense wins games, so once coach said that and told us to turn it up, that’s what we did.”
Though this was not the knockout punch, it was the spark the team needed. Each steal came with the ecstatic cheers of the crowd and growth in LSU’s confidence, and when a team’s confidence is elevated that high, the shots are bound to start falling.
And fall they did. After Liberty narrowed LSU’s lead to three with a pair of free throws, LSU would put the Flames out with a trio of threes.
Darius Days, who was responsible for two of those threes, contributed 20 of LSU’s 49 second-half points. Despite playing such a huge role offensively, this victory was a team effort and Days made that known when asked about his performance. He credited his teammates for finding him and gave Eric Gaines, Brandon Murray and Xavier Pinson a lot of credit for the team’s rally late in the second half.
“Hats off to the guys up front,” Days said regarding the back court’s performance. “It really wasn’t the bigs this time. It was a collective unit, and we had a pretty good game, but regardless, it was [the back court’s] night tonight.”
Days’ last three came with just two minutes left in the game and gave the Tigers a double-digit lead, which was ultimately too large for Liberty to overcome. The Tigers played the final seven minutes to near perfection against a team that could arguably be a strong tournament team this season and Head Coach Will Wade gave them a lot of credit for that.
“It was a huge test. There aren’t going to be many teams that beat [Liberty],” Wade stated. “On Selection Sunday, this is going to be one of our six or seven best wins, there [isn’t any question] about that. This was a good first step for us.”
LSU survived their first true test of the season and looked very impressive in the process. This team is different and right now, they have a lot of hype surrounding them.
Let’s see if they continue to impress.
That’s when the tone of the game completely changed.
The Tigers would go on a 27-6 run to finish the game, looking completely dominant in the process. Even though this team has only played three games, there’s one thing a lot of fans can agree on: this team is different.
Ferocious on defense. Efficient on offense. In the last five minutes of the game, Liberty could do nothing to douse LSU’s momentum.
In the last five minutes of the game, we saw LSU’s true potential, and it was fun to watch.
The momentum switch started with defense. With under nine minutes left in the game, Eric Gaines would have his first second-half steal, which then translated into an eventual Efton Reid layup on the other end.
He would follow that up with another steal, which led to another layup. Then another one a minute later, which led to a Darius Days three-pointer.
In four-and-a-half minutes, LSU would have seven steals and a block that ultimately resulted in a total of 14 points and a complete shift in momentum. Gaines, who led the defensive spark with four steals within that span, credited his Coach for motivating him and his teammates to be more intense on the defensive side of the ball.
“Coach told me to go in there and bring the intensity, and that’s what I did,” Gaines stated. “Defense wins games, so once coach said that and told us to turn it up, that’s what we did.”
Though this was not the knockout punch, it was the spark the team needed. Each steal came with the ecstatic cheers of the crowd and growth in LSU’s confidence, and when a team’s confidence is elevated that high, the shots are bound to start falling.
And fall they did. After Liberty narrowed LSU’s lead to three with a pair of free throws, LSU would put the Flames out with a trio of threes.
Darius Days, who was responsible for two of those threes, contributed 20 of LSU’s 49 second-half points. Despite playing such a huge role offensively, this victory was a team effort and Days made that known when asked about his performance. He credited his teammates for finding him and gave Eric Gaines, Brandon Murray and Xavier Pinson a lot of credit for the team’s rally late in the second half.
“Hats off to the guys up front,” Days said regarding the back court’s performance. “It really wasn’t the bigs this time. It was a collective unit, and we had a pretty good game, but regardless, it was [the back court’s] night tonight.”
Days’ last three came with just two minutes left in the game and gave the Tigers a double-digit lead, which was ultimately too large for Liberty to overcome. The Tigers played the final seven minutes to near perfection against a team that could arguably be a strong tournament team this season and Head Coach Will Wade gave them a lot of credit for that.
“It was a huge test. There aren’t going to be many teams that beat [Liberty],” Wade stated. “On Selection Sunday, this is going to be one of our six or seven best wins, there [isn’t any question] about that. This was a good first step for us.”
LSU survived their first true test of the season and looked very impressive in the process. This team is different and right now, they have a lot of hype surrounding them.
Let’s see if they continue to impress.
