Northwestern senior forward John Shurna earned his preseason All-America accolades Thursday, lighting up LSU for 37 points as the Tigers fell to the Wildcats, 88-82, in the first round of the Charleston Classic.
Tiger freshman forward Johnny O’Bryant III led the way for LSU, racking up 21 points from an array of layups, dunks and free throws, but LSU could not hold on to its early 14-point advantage.
The Tigers (1-2) hit the locker room shooting 58 percent and leading 41-32 at the half. The offense maintained pace in the second half, as LSU scored 41 more in the final half.
At the break, Northwestern (2-0) switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense that created a slew of transition baskets and put the Tigers on their heels to propel the Wildcats to 51 points in the second half.
“This one hurt,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said in a postgame radio interview. “We knew that they would come out in their zones to adjust since they had trouble in the man in the first half. Our guys got real tentative when they did, and we had some turnovers where we were caught on the baseline and lacked aggressiveness.”
The 6-foot-7 Shurna masterfully guided the Wildcats at every turn, pouring in 21 second-half points and providing the assist that set up Northwestern junior guard Dave Sobolewski’s crucial 3-pointer in the final minute that essentially secured the victory.
LSU, down nine points with five minutes to play, stormed back late to narrow the deficit to 83-82 on sophomore guard Ralston Turner’s 3-pointer from the right corner with 47 seconds remaining.
On the next possession, Shurna, facing an approaching LSU double-team, kicked it out to Sobolewski, who hit the clinching three-ball from the wing.
The assist was one of four in the game from Shurna, who added seven rebounds while scoring from all spots on the floor, slashing to the rim, draining four 3-pointers and making 13-of-14 free throws.
Junior guard Drew Crawford pitched in 17 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats. Sobolewski finished with 10 points in his second career outing.
“When we got up in that first half, instead of settling down and focusing on execution, we got a little sloppy and caught up emotionally,” Johnson said. “You can’t relax or stray from the course against a team as relentless as Northwestern.”
O’Bryant, a 6-foot-10 McDonald’s All-American, showed some of the athletic form that made him one of the nation’s most sought-after forward recruits, and the freshman grabbed eight rebounds.
“I thought Johnny was great, but it had nothing to do with his points or rebounds,” Johnson said. “It was all about the energy he sustained for long periods of the game.”
Tiger sophomore guard Andre Stringer contributed 15 points, and freshman point guard Anthony Hickey showcased his promise in spurring LSU to the early lead and finishing with 11 points, five assists and four steals before fouling out.
As LSU enters the loser’s bracket of the eight-team tournament, Johnson said the Tigers will have to respond with vigor against Western Kentucky on Saturday.
“We lost to two teams that will play a lot of ball in March,” Johnson said. “We’re going to be fine as long as we make sure these losses don’t snowball on our play moving forward.”
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]