LSU men’s basketball barely hung on in overtime to top South Carolina in the rematch of the season.
The Tigers were leading the Gamecocks entering halftime, and the scores were knotted at 47 just as the second half began. From here, the two teams battled back and forth to claim another SEC victory on the season. LSU narrowly clinched its second conference win with the 92-87 victory.
In true LSU basketball fashion, the winning baskets were scored in the form of free throws. In overtime alone, the purple and gold scored nine free throws in 12 attempts, but it was Max MacKinnon who put it away for LSU.
The Tigers took the victory with a 3-point shot and 20 seconds left on the overtime clock.
The last time these two teams faced off, the Gamecocks owned the Tigers, easily taking a 28-point lead to open the game. However, on Saturday, the Bayou Bengals were on a mission of vengeance.
Head coach Matt McMahon has taken his place on the hot seat this season, and he was fired up for his team to take the victory. His team led most of the first half by several points and then lost the lead nearing halftime.
Following the first matchup against South Carolina, McMahon said they never pushed the Gamecocks into an uncomfortable position. That appeared to be a goal entering this rematch.
“We never made them uncomfortable in the first half,” McMahon said after the first matchup. “Their physicality really bothered us.”
The Bayou Bengals played harder than they have all season. They truly left it all on the court in this game.
The purple and gold played a fairly complete performance compared to their last few outings. The defense stepped up a little bit, and the offense performed despite Dedan Thomas Jr. being out for the game.
Thomas has been out for most of SEC play. He only played in a handful of games in the last few weeks, and he was marked questionable for Saturday. He’s been considered day-to-day since he’s been out, McMahon said during a press conference.
“We don’t want to put anybody as ‘out’ the night before a game, and then they show up the next day and play for a lot of reasons there,” McMahon said after the Tigers’ loss to Kentucky. “He’s going from clearly being out to being doubtful. He’s making great progress. He’s still day-to-day.”
The rest of the team clearly gained experience from their first time playing South Carolina, as this game was more in the Tigers’ favor. The first time these teams faced off, MacKinnon led the team in points scored with 15. On Saturday, Mike Nwoko led the Tigers with 21 points. Defensively, Rashad King held it down for the Tigers with six defensive rebounds and one steal.
Despite all of the drama this matchup brought to the table, LSU brought the win back to Baton Rouge, but if McMahon wants to cool his seat completely, the Tigers need to win a few more games.
LSU takes on Georgia for its next matchup. The Tigers hope that the energy from this victory can carry over to try to keep the season alive. Tip-off versus the Bulldogs is at 5 p.m. on Feb. 7 in the PMAC.
