Da Boot Sports/Fanboy Publication 11/28/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU (6-1) survived another close contest on Sunday as they were able to come from behind late to defeat the Wofford Terriers (4-3), 78-75 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers found themselves down by five with only 3:40 left in the game, before Trae Hannibal and Adam Miller both stepped up to lead a 10-2 run to clinch the victory. Miller lead the Tigers with 26 points. KJ Williams added 15 points, while Trae Hannibal finished with 12, scoring six of those in the final four minutes of the contest to spearhead the comeback. LSU continued to struggle with inconsistency in their play early in the season as Wofford was able to keep things close all day long. The Terriers lead the Bayou Bengals 33-30 late in the first half on the strength of their outside shooting, (sinking six 3-point shots). But the Tigers were able to go on a 7-0 run over the final two minutes of the period to hold a 37-33 lead at the break. LSU began the second half with a Mwani Wilkinson three pointer to extend their lead to seven, but the Terriers responded, storming back and giving the Tigers all they could handle. Over the final 17 minutes of the contest there were 12 lead changes as LSU simply couldn't shake and pull away from a very pesky Wofford team. Up next LSU will host UT Arlington on Friday, December 2nd in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm CST. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi
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Da Boot Sports/Fanboy Publication 11/25/2022 LSU Sports Communications By: LSU Staff GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – An apparently slow start by the clock operator at John Gray Gymnasium in the final 4.7 seconds potentially cost LSU a chance to tie and force overtime, giving Kansas State a 61-59 victory over the Tigers in the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic.The finish marred an entertaining battle between SEC and Big 12 teams before an overflow crowd of some 2,400 at the first Cayman Islands Classic final in three years. Neither team led by more than three in the final eight minutes of the game and Kansas State had taken a 61-59 lead right at the end of the shot clock (which was reviewed) with 4.7 seconds to play. After that basket was reviewed and counted, the teams then proceeded to each take their final two timeouts before play resumed with LSU having to go the length of the floor in 4.7 seconds. This is when hand on clock switch didn’t work as it should have apparently. Jalen Reed was out of bounds for the throw in and threw the ball across the out-of-bounds area to Trae Hannibal who had also moved out-of-bounds on the baseline. Hannibal then tossed it in bounds back to Reed. He dribbled once with the clock not running and then it started as his second dribble was hitting the floor. He passed the ball back to Hannibal at the top of the key and he drove pass his defender and with time apparently remaining, laid the ball in with the clock going from .02 to .01. The horn sounded and it appeared the game was going to overtime as LSU celebrated. While officials Jeff Anderson, John Higgins and Doug Shows went to the monitor to check on the bucket being good, it was discovered by the officials that there was a clock error. The officials brought out a stopwatch and timed the play and based on the video evidence the play was ruled to have taken longer than the 4.7 seconds that was on the clock when play resumed. Unofficial timed video replays by other media after the game put the clip at just over five seconds. Unlike in the Southeastern Conference and most major venues, there is no system that is used where the officials can start and stop the clock. It is a table clock operator handling all that manually. The officials brought the two coaches together explained the situation and took the LSU points off the board, sending the K-State fans into jubilation. “It’s disappointing,” Coach Matt McMahon said afterwards. “I will have to look at the film and see. I have never been a part of a game ending that way. It looked like our guys had executed it well and made the play, so I’ll have to see when the clock did start. I guess that is the way the rule is written. Just a disappointing end to that game.” The loss dropped LSU to 5-1 on the season and kept K-State undefeated at 6-0. KJ Williams had his 29th career double double scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds with Justice Hill getting 12 and Adam Miller. Both Williams and Miller were named to the 10-person all-tournament team representing LSU. The Tigers again played a tremendous half of basketball to open the game, building a 41-33 halftime advantage. LSU led by as much as 12 in the opening stanza, breaking an 8-8 tie to go up 15-8 and eventually a 23-11 run that put LSU up, 31-19, with 5:35 to go. Only a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Markquis Nowell kept the margin below double digits. LSU in the first half had just three turnovers, shot 47.1 percent (16-of-34) with five treys but was 4-of-10 at the free throw line. Kansas State shot 50 percent in the first half (10-of-2) but also turned the ball over 11 times resulting in 11 LSU points. The Tigers, turned it over only three times. But in the final 20 minutes the Tigers had just two assists and 14 turnovers as neither offense really got going again as both teams shot in the high 30 percent range and combined to make just 2-of-15 from the three-point arc. Kansas State got 14 points off the LSU second half turnovers. LSU was held to just 18 points as only Williams and Reed were able to score more than two points, with each totaling four. “It’s a tough way to lose,” Coach McMahon said. “Can’t fault our players for their great effort on the floor. I wish I could have done a better job to get them in better positions to be more effective offensively in the second half. We turned it over 14 times and some of those turnovers led to points. We shot 50 percent from the free throw line. Just disappointing. Couldn’t score enough points in the second half to win.” The Tigers will now return to Baton Rouge and will play Wofford at the Maravich Center on Sunday at 2 p.m. “It was a crushing loss, but I told the team after the game ‘The last time a team went undefeated in college basketball was 50 years go’, so a lot of it is how do we respond to the losses. As disappointing as it is, we have to move forward,” the first-year Tiger mentor said. “We get to go home and celebrate Thanksgiving and then get ready to play again on Sunday.” Nowell, who was named the tournament MVP, led K-State with 18 points, while both Keyontae Johnson and Desi Sills each scored 16 for the Wildcats. Rebounds in the contest were even at 30 as were points in the paint at 28. LSU had a 9-1 advantage in second chance points, but Kansas State had a 10-3 lead in fast break points, including a few points on transition buckets when K-State was rallying to even the game. In all there were eight lead changes and four ties in a game LSU led for 30:45. Da Boot Sports 11/22/2022 LSU Sports Communication By: LSU Staff GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – The LSU Tigers will play for a championship in a multi-team event for the second consecutive year as they advanced to the finals Tuesday of the Cayman Islands Championship with a 73-58 win over Akron at John Gray Gymnasium. The Tigers are now 5-0 on the season and will play the winner of Tuesday’s final game between Nevada and Kansas State for the championship at 6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Offensively and defensively the Tigers had moments that stood out in the contest against the Zips, now 3-2. Defensively, LSU held Akron to just 25.9 percent field goal shooting for the game (14-of-54) and a strong 20 percent in the final 20 minutes as the Zips made just 5-of-25 overall, 2-of-16 from inside the arc. The defensive effort proved pivotal at a point in the first half when Akron was able to outscore LSU 12-3 to reverse a 22-21 LSU lead into a 33-25 Tiger deficit with 4:21 to go in the first half. Coach Matt McMahon called time out to try to get things organized but Akron had a chance to go up double figures after an LSU miss and a Tiger foul. Xavier Castaneda, who would make 12-of-16 free throws in leading the Zips with 28 points, however, would miss the front end of a one-and-one and Adam Miller would score on the other end to cut the Akron lead to six. On the ensuing possession, after an LSU miss, KJ Williams would score to make it 33-29 in favor of Akron. The Zips missed again and Cam Hayes was fouled in the process of shooting a three-pointer and made two-of-three to cut the lead to 33-31. The Tigers went to the halftime break, energized, and down just those two points, 35-33, at the break. It took LSU all of 22 seconds of the opening possession to tie the game in the second half as Justice Hill hit a driving layup to tie the game. Akron turned the ball over and KJ Williams after an offensive board, scored to give LSU the lead again at 37-35. Sammy Hunter hit a three-pointer for Akron to give them a 38-37 advantage, but when Miller’s jumper at the 18:16 mark went in to give LSU back the lead at 39-38, the Tigers would never trail again. LSU’s offense rolled from several different points in the second half when LSU shot 57.1 percent from the floor (16-of-28) and 4-of-10 from the arc. Miller had 15 second half points (making 6-of-9 field goals including three three-pointers), while KJ Williams had 12 points in the final 20 minutes (4-of-8 from the field with a trey) and Hill had eight points, three assists and no turnovers. Also, Trae Hannibal played 17 minutes and Derek Fountain 15-plus minutes in helping lead LSU back from their first halftime deficit of the young season. The Tigers gradually worked the lead to nine points with 10:07 to go, 53-44, on a KJ Williams turnaround and pushed the lead to double figures for the first time on a Miller bucket with 9:12 to go. Akron made a brief run but could get no closer than the six rest of the way as LSU enjoyed a double figure lead over the final five minutes. The Tigers allowed only six two-point field goals by Akron which is tied for the fewest made by an LSU opponent since Feb. 7, 1953 when Tulane went 5-for-32 from the field. Ohio last season also made just six two-point field goals against LSU (Dec. 1, 2021). “I am really excited about the progress of our team,” said Coach McMahon. “We held them (Akron) to 31 percent from the floor in the first half. Then in the second half we held them to 20 percent from the floor. I thought our effort was tremendous. The guys did a great job of executing down the stretch. Our guys made the plays to be able to close out the game.” Miller would finish with 23 points off five treys with KJ Williams, followed his 33 points on Monday with 19 on Tuesday and Justice Hill had 14 points, three assists and no turnovers in 26 minutes. “With every great team. you want to have great inside and outside balance,” said Coach McMahon. “We wanted to be able to pound the ball into the post to KJ and we wanted to be able to run Adam off of screens. He doesn’t need much time or space to get his shots off. I thought our guys did a great job of screening. I thought Justice Hill did a great job of running our team from the point guard position. He made some great decisions. We had terrific point guard play.” LSU had a season low 10 turnovers and forced 14 by the Zips. The Tigers were out rebounded 36-31 in the game and Akron had 19 offensive rebounds to extend possessions. Along with Castaneda, who also had four treys and four assists, Sammy Hunter had 13 points. Enrique Freeman, held to just three points, had 10 rebounds for the Zips. Last year, LSU defeated Penn State and Wake Forest to win the Emerald Coach Classic Tournament in Niceville, Florida. The Tigers will be trying to win an eight-team MTE outside of Baton Rouge since the Tigers defeated three teams to win the Hawaii Pacific Classic in Honolulu in 1999. The Voice of the Tigers Chris Blair and Coach John Brady will have the call of the championship game on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (Guaranty Media flagship affiliate Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge). The contest will be streamed by FloHoops. Da Boot Sports 11/21/2022 LSU Sports Communications By: LSU Staff GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – The LSU Tigers played a near flawless opening 20 minutes and eased to a 77-61 decision over Illinois State in a first-round game of the Cayman Island Classic here Monday morning at John Gray Gymnasium.The Tigers made the events return to the islands in three years a special one by opening a 45-18 halftime advantage in going to 4-0 on the young season and advancing to Tuesday’s semifinal game at 12:30 p.m. CST against Akron, a 72-53 winner over Western Kentucky. Fifth-year senior KJ Williams had a spectacular tournament opener with 33 points, 22 in the opening half. It equaled the second highest scoring game of his college career and the fifth time he had 30 or more points in a college game. Williams was 13-of-19 from the floor with a three-pointer and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Of Williams, LSU Coach Matt McMahon said: “I love that he can make threes. but I had to give him a friendly reminded that he was shooting a layup every time he was down in the paint, so let’s get you in there. Credit to his teammates, that doesn’t just happen with a one man show. The screening execution to get him the ball inside the charge circle was really good. We played really unselfishly. I thought we looked like a fundamentally sound offensive team in the first half that shared and moved the ball well.” Adam Miller added 13 points for LSU and Cam Hays had 10 to led the LSU scoring. Illinois State (2-3) was led by Darius Burford with 17, while Seneca Knight had 14 and Colton Sandage 12. LSU seemed very excited and aggressive in pregame warmups and that was even more apparent after the game got under way with a nice group of Tigers traveling to watch the contests. Illinois State got the early advantage at 3-2, but LSU took off from there. Adam Miller’s jump shot gave the Tigers the lead for good at 4-3 with 17:44 to go in the opening half, starting a 13-0 run that allowed LSU to take a 15-3 advantage at the 13:21 mark. After an Illinois State bucket, LSU started another run of 10-2 to make the lead 18, 25-7, and the Tigers finished with seven straight points for the 27-point advantage at the break. The Tigers shot 59.3 percent in the first half (16-of-27) with two treys and 11-of-15 free throws. Illinois State, which committed 10 turnovers under the LSU pressure, shot just 25.9 percent in the first 20 minutes (7-of-27), with just 1-of-13 from the arc. “It was an awesome first 20 minutes,” said Coach McMahon after the game. “The first half was great. I thought our guys were locked in and had a laser focus on the defensive end. We did the things we wanted to accomplish. We held Illinois State to 1-13 from three, we thought we could turn them over with our pressure and ended up forcing ten turnovers. We wanted to defend without putting them on the line and were able to dominate the free throw line as well.” The final margin was as close as Illinois State was able to get in the second half. For the game, LSU shot 49.1 percent (26-53) with three made three-pointers and 22-of-30 at the free throw line. For the game Illinois State ended up at 42-.3 percent (22-52) with five treys and 12-of-14 at the line. LSU had 40 points in the point and 12 second chance point as it pushed its record to 94-0 since the 1966-67 season when it had a 20-point lead at the half. The game Tuesday will be broadcast on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (Guaranty Media flagship Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) with the Voice of the Tigers Chris Blair and former LSU head coach John Brady on the call. The game will be streamed on FloHoops. Da Boot Sports 11/17/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - The LSU Fighting Tigers improved their record to 3-0 on Thursday night with a 91-62 blowout victory over the UNO Privateers on Dale Brown Court in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. After trailing briefly early in the contest, the Bayou Bengals shifted into cruise control the rest of the way, overwhelming the Privateers as 15 different Tigers saw action on the floor throughout the night. The Tigers finished with 51 points off the bench. Derek Fountain lead the Tigers with 15 points, while Cam Hayes scored 13 and Justice Hill added 12 points in the game. LSU shot 30-58 from the floor for 52% and 12-28 from behind the arc for 43%,... The Tigers had a better night at the free throw line going 19-26 for 73%. Defensively, LSU scored 21 points off of 22 turnovers. 17 of those turnovers were steals. LSU also owned the boards, outrebounding UNO, 36-29. “Really proud of our players and the progress that we made. I know the score turned out well for us, but what I was most pleased with was that I thought we were more of a team today." LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon said. "Watching the celebrators celebrate each other's success, that is something we really want to continue to build. I’m really fired up for Derek Fountain and Cam Hayes. They were fantastic tonight and I don't think it was an accident. They've had great practices, they have shown great leadership, and I think both were very prepared for when their opportunity came. Their impact on the game was obviously huge.” LSU started slowly as they found themselves behind to UNO early, 6-2 before waking up to go on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take an 11-6 lead with 16:15 left on the clock. The Privateers kept the contest close, pulling to within 12-9, but LSU would slowly begin to dominate the game. The Tigers went on a 20-3 run over the next ten minutes building their largest lead of the early season, 32-12 at the 5:49 mark. UNO had no quit in them, as they continued to fight as they managed to trim the LSU lead to 16 points, but the Tigers turned up the heat over the final three minutes of the half, going on a 10-4 run to hold a 47-25 lead at the half. Derek Fountain lead the Tigers at the half with 13 points,... Justice Hill hit three 3-pointers for 9 points at the break,... Mwani Wilkinson scored 6,... KJ Williams added 5,... while Adam Miller and Trae Hannibal finished with 4 points each. LSU's defense forced 15 UNO turnovers in the first half, while outrebounding the Privateers, 22-17. The Tigers took control early in the second half, outscoring the Privateers, 21-10 over the first ten minutes to build a 68-35 lead at the 9:48 mark. McMahon was pleased with the performance of his team, especially several of the players who came in off the bench to contribute. “I think it started at the defensive end. Fountain off the bench had seven steals and he led us in offensive rebounds. Those were big-effort, hustle-type plays. That gave us the ability to go out there and get some transition, easier baskets, and some confidence on the offensive end. I thought the bench was great." said McMahon. "Kendal Coleman got seven rebounds, I thought he was very physical. Adam Miller got a lot of good looks. We want him to take every single one of those threes. It was very encouraging for me to see us go 12-for-28 from three on a night that he didn't shoot as well as he’s capable of. He’s one of the top shooters in all of college basketball. I thought that balance off the bench was key to the game.” Next up LSU will travel to play in the Cayman Islands Classic from Nov. 21.- 23. The Tigers will open up against Illinois State on Monday. Tipoff is set for 10:00am CST. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi **John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Find Jesus) Da Boot Sports 11/12/2022 LSU Sports Communications By: LSU Staff BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers held Arkansas State scoreless for 7:05 at a point in the second half when the Red Wolves had closed the LSU lead down to just two points and the Tigers came away with a 61-52 win over A-State Saturday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The win pushed the Tigers to 2-0 on the young season, while Arkansas State dropped to 1-1. LSU fell behind for the first time all season, 10-9, at the 13:49 point of the first half, but Arkansas State’s lead was just over a minute and the Tigers led at intermission, 31-26. The Tigers led by as much as 11 in the first four minutes of the second half but the Red Wolves would not go away and tried to chip away at openings in the LSU defense eventually getting the margin to two, 45-43, after an LSU turnover with 9:58 to play. LSU on its next possession missed two shots but KJ Williams came up with an offensive board and a lay up for the 47-43 advantage. The teams wouldn’t score for some five minutes, but Adam Miller hit a three-pointer to push the margin to seven and then added two free throws and another three to make it 54-43 for the Tigers. The run finished at the 2:50 mark when Williams off a Trae Hannibal steal scored on an emphatic dunk to make it 56-43 for LSU, sealing the game. Miller for the second straight game hit four treys and 9-of-15 overall field goals to finish with 26 points in 39 minutes. Williams, who was saddled with first half foul trouble scored 15 points, hitting three treys and Justice Hill ad 11 points and three assists. For the second straight game, LSU hit eight three-pointers (8-of-20, 40.0%). LSU hit 20-of-51 shots from the field (39.2), but 13-of-16 from the free throw line (81.3%). Omar El-Sheikh led Arkansas State with 17 points and eight rebounds. The Red Wolves shot just 38.6 percent from the field (22-57) and made 5-of-25 three-point attempts. In a statistical anomaly, Williams, Hill and Miller had all the field goals for LSU, going a combined 20-of-40 for the trio and 8-of-18 from the field. For the second straight game, LSU forced two shot clock violations. The Tigers are back at home to conclude the three-game homestand on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against UNO. The game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SECN+. Da Boot Sports 11/9/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - It was the opening contest of the 2022-23 LSU Men's Basketball season as well as game one of the Matt McMahon era, but all the pregame hype and excitement quickly became a quiet, frustrating night for the 9,338 fans in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The LSU roster which is full of newcomers, showed the look of a team that will need time to gel while Coach McMahon pieces together the right starting five. This team is loaded with talent and will get better each game. It was ugly and sloppy at times with the Tigers struggling to find consistency all night long, as they held on to defeat the Kangaroos, 74-63. “Excited to get a win. Sure beats losing. Obviously would’ve liked to have played better, but as we know, first time this group is playing together in this setting and we’re going to be a work in progress there. Overall, a lot of positives to take away and certainly plenty to work on tomorrow and Friday in preparation for Saturday’s next opportunity.” said McMahon. With 5:37 left in the contest LSU found their lead cut to five, 66-61 by a Kansas City squad that wouldn't go away. But the Tigers finally found a spark to go on a 8-2 run to finish off the game. Adam Miller lead the Tigers in scoring with 18 points, while Justice Hill scored 13 and KJ Williams finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double. Mawani Wilkinson added 9 points in the contest. LSU finished shooting 24-57 from the floor for 42%,... 8-21 from behind the three point arc for 38%,... The Tigers struggled from the charity stripe hitting 18-26 for 69%. LSU committed 15 turnovers while forcing the Roos into 16 total turnovers, and LSU outrebounded Kansas City, 45-38. The Tigers started the game playing well on both ends of the floor, running out to a 12-4 lead at the 17:08 mark thanks to hot shooting from the outside with two three pointers from Mwani Wilkinson and one from Adam Miller. Over the next four minutes Kansas City was able to go on a 8-3 run as LSU began to struggle with sluggish play, pulling to within 15-12. The Tigers managed to build their lead to nine, 23-14 at the 10:07 mark, but the pesky Kangaroos once again battled back going on a 8-2 run to cut the LSU lead to 25-22 with 7:27 left in the first half. LSU continued to sputter in spurts. After increasing their lead to nine, 34-25 at the 4:02 mark, the Roos would respond with a 7-0 run, as they surprisingly kept outrebounding and outscoring the Tigers in the paint. 34-32 LSU with only 1:46 left in the first half. The Tigers would shift into an extra gear over the final minute of the half, going on a 7-2 run, capped off by a Justice Hill three pointer at the buzzer, giving the Bayou Bengals a 41-34 halftime lead. Justice Hill and Mwani Wilkinson both lead the Tigers at the half with 9 points each. Adam Miller scored 8 while KJ Williams added 7 points over the first twenty minutes of play. LSU shot 12-28 from the floor for 43%,.. 6-12 from three point land for 50%,... and 11-17 from the free throw line for 65%. The Kangaroos out rebounded LSU 23-21 in the first half while each squad turned the ball over seven times each. LSU began the second half like they did to start the game, playing well at a fast pace as they outscored the Roos 11-5 over the first four minutes of the period to build their lead to 52-39. McMahon would use different lineup combinations on the court, looking to shake off the rust as the Tigers continued their sloppy, inconsistent play. LSU lead by double digits through most of the second half, but every time it looked like the Tigers could pull away Kansas City would claw back to stay within shouting distance. Next up, LSU (1-0) will host Arkansas State in the Assembly Center on Saturday, Nov. 12th. Tip Off is set for 5pm CST. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes **John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Find Jesus) |
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