The Tigers are still winless at the PMAC in conference play, losing to the Georgia Bulldogs Tuesday night in a back-and-forth finish, 61-60.
LSU played a full court press on Georgia to start the game which left the Bulldogs confused at times forcing five first half turnovers leading to eight points.
Junior guard Brandon Sampson connected on his first three pointer in conference play after going 0-for-9 in the first four. The junior adapted well to his return to the starting lineup, leading the Tigers in scoring with 17.
“It was a tail of two halves,” LSU coach Will Wade said. “We controlled the pace in the first half, second half they controlled things. They physically beat us up in the paint and beat us up on the glass.
An 8-0 run in the span of two minutes gave LSU a 17-9 advantage with 11:39 to go in the first half. It was a balanced scoring attack from the purple and gold in the first half with five different players scoring between five and seven points.
That production coupled with elite defensive play held Georgia to 24 points at halftime, the second lowest point total for an SEC school against LSU this season.
An area of concern for Wade heading into the game was the team’s ability to rebound on one of the SEC’s best. LSU held its own in the first half but were out-rebounded 23-13 in the second half.
“We were down one on the boards at halftime and we lost it by eleven,” Wade said. “They rebounded 13 of their 31 misses. I mean they physically beat us up.”
Bulldog forward Derek Ogbeide torched the interior LSU defense with his physicality under the goal scoring 11 points while Yante Maten added 21 more.
Georgia came out of the second half with a 14-3 run to take a one point lead on LSU, starting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. The Bulldogs were so dominant that it took LSU six minutes to record a rebound in the second half.
“I think it’s about toughness,” Reath said. “I think our toughness isn’t there on the rebounds.”
The LSU defense stepped up despite second half shooting woes, holding the Bulldogs without a field goal for a six minute stretch in the second half.
With LSU down a point with 2:59 left, Sampson connected on a stepback three followed. A three pointer was answered by Juwan Parker with 59.8 seconds to go that gave Georgia the lead back. A Reath stepback corner jumper gave LSU the one point edge.
Georgia followed with a turnaround jump hook by Maten over sophomore guard Skylar Mays with 5.7 seconds in the game. This gave LSU the chance at a last second shot but a last second heaven by Waters missed left, ending the game.
LSU will look to regroup and try its luck on the road where they will take on Vanderbilt on Saturday at noon.
