The 18th-ranked LSU basketball team fell to No. 11 Auburn on Saturday dropping, to 3rd in the Southeastern Conference. LSU (17-6, 8-2 SEC) took Auburn to an overtime showdown on the road, falling short, 91-90.
It was a defensive battle early in the first half before LSU got things going from deep. LSU hit five three-pointers en route to a 22-3 run to take a 30-15 lead.
Auburn responded with three-straight three-pointers to cut the lead to four, but LSU brought it back up to 10 following threes from Skylar Mays and Marlon Taylor.
LSU closed out the first half with a 42-30 lead. Darius Days had a game-high 15 points shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep. Mays added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
LSU held a double-digit lead for most of the second half before Auburn cut the lead to four with 4:32 left to play. LSU brought the lead back up to eight before an Auburn three made it a five-point game with just over a minute to go.
Auburn hit two more three-pointers to cut the lead to two with 47 seconds left before tying things up. Mays missed a last-second attempt and the game went into overtime.
Auburn hit three threes to start the overtime period and took a seven-point lead, the team’s largest of the game. Mays took over and scored six-straight points for LSU to cut it to one with 16 seconds remaining.
Mays stole the ball and gave it to Emmitt Williams for the slam to take a one-point lead with nine seconds left. Auburn’s J’Von McCormick drove in the lane and floated a layup to edge out the victory over LSU.
Mays led all scorers with 30 points to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists. Days added 19 points and seven rebounds followed by Javonte Smart and Trendon Watford’s 12 points apiece.
LSU nearly doubled Auburn’s points in the paint, but Auburn hit 18 three-pointers, with 13 of them coming in the second half and overtime. Auburn had three 20-point scorers including freshman Devan Cambridge, who knocked down 7-of-10 threes.
“Tough loss but it was two really good teams slugging it out,” coach Will Wade said. “Cambridge was the difference, just like he was against South Carolina. I thought [Auburn’s] guard play and Cambridge was tremendous.”
LSU will look to bounce back Tuesday, when the Tigers return to the PMAC for another SEC showdown against Missouri.