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
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 | 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 |