LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson is used to having Georgia coach Mark Fox on his side.
The two shared the bench as assistants with Washington during the early 1990s, and Johnson hired Fox to his staff at Nevada in 1999.
The coaches went toe-to-toe Wednesday night, and the understudy got the best of his former boss as the Bulldogs bullied LSU (11-19, 3-12) in the second half to beat the Tigers, 73-53.
Georgia (20-9, 9-6) capitalized on LSU’s 18 turnovers, scoring 34 points off the Tigers’ mistakes.
“That’s the difference in the basketball game,” Johnson said in his postgame radio interview. “We got real careless with the ball.”
Freshman point guard Andre Stringer and freshman guard Ralston Turner each committed four turnovers.
Turner, who recorded a game-high 19 points, was the bright spot for LSU despite the four giveaways. His 9-of-9 performance from the free-throw line was a career high.
“Ralston played well for us,” Johnson said. “He did a very good job in terms of getting to the free-throw line and being aggressive.”
The Bulldogs used a balanced attack to beat LSU as four players, including junior guard Gerald Robinson, scored in double figures. Robinson, a transfer from Tennessee State University, contributed 16 points.
“Robinson’s a very impressive athlete,” Johnson said. “He’s a really good addition for them.”
Georgia junior forward Trey Thompkins, the Southeastern Conference Preseason Player of the Year, was held to eight points, but his supporting cast carried the load.
“They have some good athletes, and they ran out on us,” Johnson said.
But the Bulldogs didn’t have complete control of the game.
LSU flexed its muscles early, starting the game with a 13-4 lead. The Bulldogs began the contest shooting 2-of-12 before eventually heating up from the floor and going on a 15-2 run, which gave Georgia a 30-25 halftime lead.
“We have a hard time sustaining anything past 30 minutes,” Johnson said.
Georgia’s ninth conference victory kept its hope for a bye in SEC tournament alive and helped its case for an spot in the NCAA tournament.
Before Wednesday’s game, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected the Bulldogs as a No. 11 seed in the NCAA tournament.
LSU could have secured the fifth-place spot in the SEC West by upsetting Georgia or if Ole Miss had defeated Auburn on Wednesday night.
Neither scenario transpired.
Auburn’s 76-73 win at home against the Rebels keeps the No. 5 spot in the SEC West up for grabs.
LSU will host Auburn on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the fifth seed in the division.
The winner of the game will open the SEC tournament against the No. 4 team from the SEC East on March 10 in Atlanta. The loser will take on the No. 3 squad from the East.
Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Georgia are all tied for the second spot in the East with 9-6 conference records.
Follow Michael Lambert on Twitter @TDR_Lambert.
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]