National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Arkansas 90, Louisiana State 89
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 2, 2019
Where: Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Officials: # Joe Lindsay, # Vladimir Voyard-Tadal, # K.B. Burdett
Attendance: 13311

Arkansas' Mason Jones made a twisting jumper in the lane with 22 seconds left, and the Razorbacks foiled a furious comeback by LSU from an 18-point, second-half deficit to defeat the 19th-ranked Tigers 90-89 Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.

Jones' go-ahead basket came after a poor decision by LSU point guard Tremont Waters cost the Tigers dearly. With LSU leading 89-88, Waters attempted an alley-oop pass to Naz Reid from well behind the 3-point arc, and the turnover gave Arkansas the chance for the go-ahead basket.

Arkansas (13-8, 4-4 SEC) overcame serious foul trouble, losing two starters, forward Daniel Gafford and point guard Jalen Harris in the final five minutes. Gafford led the Razorbacks with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor. Isaiah Joe had 18 points for Arkansas.

LSU (17-4, 7-1) saw its 10-game winning streak end. Reid led LSU with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman guard Ja'vonte Smart had 18 points.

Arkansas used a 21-7 run in the first 6:15 of the second half, hitting 8 of 10 shots, including three 3-pointers, to take its biggest lead of the game, 66-48. Joe and Adrio Bailey scored five points in the run, and Gafford added four.

However, LSU unleashed a full-court press to force several turnovers and slowly get back in the game. Skylar Mays' coast-to-coast layup and free throw cut the deficit to 72-63 with 9:04 left, but Keyshawn Embery-Simpson nailed a 3-pointer, his fourth of the game, to extend the lead to double digits again.

Mays' 3-pointer cut the deficit to 79-73 with 6:46 left, and Waters' two foul shots closed it to 80-75. Emmitt Williams' rebound dunk made it 81-77.

Smart's two free throws gave LSU its final lead, 89-88, with 2:01 left, but LSU went scoreless from that point.

Arkansas shot 63.3 percent from the field in the first half (19 of 30) but led just 45-41 at intermission. Gafford led the way with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, all of them either dunks or layups despite constant double-teaming by LSU in the paint.

Embery-Simpson, who scored 13 points off the bench in the first half, finished with 16 points.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Arkansas   Louisiana State
Daniel Gafford 23 Scoring Naz Reid 19
Gabe Osabuohien 6 Assists Tremont Waters 6
Daniel Gafford 8 Rebounds Naz Reid 10
Adrio Bailey 2 Free Throws Made Naz Reid 8
Adrio Bailey 2 Steals Skylar Mays 3
Daniel Gafford 2 Blocks Marlon Taylor 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Arkansas 90 58.3 13-24 7-11 20 20 3 8 18
Louisiana State 89 44.1 5-24 32-38 11 41 3 8 21