At times in the PMAC on Saturday, it seemed as if the LSU men’s basketball team had just won the national championship.
With the football team’s ADT national championship trophy on display at halftime, LSU walked away with a thrilling 70-66 victory against Southeastern Conference foe Alabama in front of 8,105 screaming fans. The victory marked the second in a row against the Crimson Tide for the Tigers. LSU defeated Alabama 66-62 in the season finale last year in the PMAC.
LSU (11-1, 2-0 SEC) is 2-0 to start conference play for the first time since the 1994-95 season. The Tigers defeated Florida at home and Auburn on the road to begin SEC play that season.
The win did not come easy for the Tigers. Alabama held a 12-point lead with 6:41 to play in the game, but LSU stole the momentum using full court pressure and three 3-point baskets by sophomore guard Darrel Mitchell to give the Tigers a 62-60 edge with 2:21 to play.
Alabama quickly tied the score and took the lead, 64-62 with 1:10 to play in the game. After an LSU timeout, Antonio Hudson nailed a 3-pointer with 0:51 on the clock to reclaim the lead for the Tigers.
“Hudson came out of the hole and was able to get the ball in his hand,” LSU coach John Brady said. “I just had a sneaking hunch when he was able to square his shoulders and spin the ball in his hand. He was wide open.
“It was an executed play that we called that I take my hat off to the team for. That is the biggest thing with this team that we have got to get to, critical moments of the game, being able to execute as we can in order to win the game. You don’t win on talent alone.”
LSU had trouble closing the deal as well. The Tigers went to the free-throw line three times in a 25-second span, but only hit 3-of-6 from the line to extend the lead to 68-64.
Alabama forward Kennedy Winston, who led the team with 15 points, hit a jumper and cut the lead to two with five seconds to play. The Crimson Tide immediately fouled Tack Minor on the ensuing inbound play and Minor iced the game at the line with two free throws.
LSU finished the game 23-of-36 from the free-throw line and shot 40.4 percent from the field.
“I was proud of our team, I really was,” Brady said. “I have to hand it to our guys because we had things not go right for us. We got down 12, I think, at least on one occasion, and got down 10 a couple of times. We just found a way to win.”
Mitchell led all scorers with 19 points and shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range. As a team, the Tigers made 40.9 percent of their 3-pointers.
Three of Mitchell’s 3-pointers came during the crucial 17-3 LSU run near the end of the game.
“Hudson stole it and he passed it over to me on the win, and I was able to hit it,” Mitchell said. “I had a lot of confidence after I hit the first one, so I just continued to shoot it, and it was able to go in.”
Five Tigers scored in double figures. Jaime Lloreda, Brandon Bass and Tack Minor added 12 points while Hudson recorded 13. Lloreda added 11 rebounds and five blocks. The Tigers blocked nine shots total in the game.
Alabama (8-3, 0-1 SEC) lost its second straight contest.
“We had the game won, and it was nothing they did to take the game from us,” said Alabama forward Chuck Davis, who finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds. “We made very poor decisions down the stretch. Even though they went on a run, we should have stayed with what we were doing and kept scoring, but we just broke down.”
The Tigers break from SEC play to battle UNO on Monday in New Orleans. LSU returns to conference play on Jan. 17 versus Mississippi State.