Free-throw shooting kept chances alive Saturday for the bounce-back win it needed after a deflating home loss.
Without point guard Dedan Thomas, the Tigers beat South Carolina 92-87 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. Their first Southeastern Conference road win also snapped a three-game losing streak.
โReally thankful to win,โ coach Matt McMahon said on the LSU sports radio network. โProud of our guys. It's been choppy with some injury stuff this week and the poor performance against Mississippi State. So was really pleased to see us respond the right way.โ
LSU (14-8, 2-7 SEC) took an 89-85 lead when Max Mackinnon nailed a right-corner 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining.ย
"Obviously, they put two on the ball," Mackinnon said. "Pablo (Tamba) had a great pass to me, great teammate, he's (the) ultimate winner. So he passed it to me, I knocked down the shot and that was it."
FINAL SCORE
โ Toyloy Brown III (@TJ3rd_)
LSU 92
South Carolina 87
Max Mackinnon, who had 15 points and a season-high 8 assists, drills this clutch 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 4-point lead in OT.
Nice job by the team handling the full-court pressure of South Carolina
STORY:
Mike Nwoko had 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting for LSU. Mackinnon had 15 points and a season-high eight assists. LSU made 9 of 12 free throws in overtime and 21 of 25 for the game.
Rashad King and Pablo Tamba made two free throws apiece to give the Tigers their first four points of overtime. Neither team could find a basket until South Carolinaโs Meechie Johnson made a mid-range jumper to pull his team within 85-84 with 1:34 left. That was the final made shot by South Carolina (11-11, 2-7).
An LSU spokesperson said Thomas was out because of the same lower left leg injury he suffered Jan. 2. That injury forced him to miss the first five games of conference play.
Without Thomas, the Tigers started King. The 6-foot-6 Northeastern transfer had a season-high 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one turnover.
LSU focused on a strong start after scoring only 21 first-half points against Mississippi State on Wednesday. A poor start also occurred in ณขณงฑซโs first 10-point loss against South Carolina on Jan. 6, as the Gamecocks made their first nine shots and led 50-25 at halftime.
South Carolina didnโt replicate its hot shooting Saturday. LSU led 10-6 at the 15:23 mark, and its opponent was 3 of 8 from the field.
Nwoko had seven of the teamโs first 12 points. He used his 6-10, 261-pound frame to clear out space against a smaller frontcourt.
Mackinnon helped LSU attack the paint effectively, using the threat of his jump shot to get downhill and facilitate. His best play was when he performed a spin move in transition and threw an interior pass to center Robert Miller for a dunk, giving the team an 18-11 lead with 12:46 remaining in the first half.
LSU was in control, and its largest lead was 28-15 with 8:08 left in the first half after a dunk by Marquel Sutton, who had nine points before halftime and finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
โI loved our unselfishness,โ McMahon said. โI thought the ball moved โ 23 assists on 31 baskets is how we need to play moving forward.โ
South Carolina responded with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 28-25 with 4:02 left. LSU entered halftime ahead 36-35 and had eight turnovers to South Carolinaโs two.
Johnson, who had 21 points and six assists for the Gamecocks, scored seven points in the first four minutes of the second half. His team took a 49-47 on Grant Polkโs tip-in at the 15:08 mark.
South Carolina held on to a narrow lead for the majority of the second half, but King went on a personal 5-0 run late in regulation. He had a steal and transition layup, followed by a 3-pointer, bringing LSU within one point with 5:14 left. A couple of minutes later, King was fouled while creating space for a jumper.
The defensive foul against Eli Ellis remained, but the referees gave King a Flagrant 1 foul for a push off. It resulted in both players making two free throws, tying the game at 74-74 with 3:50 remaining in regulation.
South Carolina took a 78-76 lead on Elijah Strong's hook shot over Nwoko, but Nwoko responded on the other end with a bucket off a Mackinnon pass.
LSU had possession with the score tied at 78 with 21 seconds left and 16 seconds on the shot clock. King was double-teamed after a screen and fell down. The officials initially ruled a jump ball, but upon review, LSU called a timeout before the whistle.
The Tigers inbounded the ball from the right sideline with 1.6 seconds left on the shot clock, but King missed a right-wing 3-pointer to send the game of overtime.
โWe got to the free-throw line and converted, and, you know, it certainly wasn't a thing of beauty on defense, but we got just enough stops to get out of here with the win,โ McMahon said.
ณขณงฑซโs next game is against Georgia at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.