Javonte Smart and Tremont Waters lead LSU past Georgia 83-79

Javonte Smart and Tremont Waters combined for 39 points as LSU defeated Georgia 83-79 in a Southeastern Conference game at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens on Saturday evening.

DECISIVE STRETCH OF THE GAME

The game was tied for the last time at 68-68 on two foul shots by Jordan Harris with 7:03 remaining in the game. Over the next 4½ minutes, the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 14-6. A basket by Smart gave LSU the lead for good at 70-68. Waters followed with two foul shots to put the Tigers ahead by four points. Kavell Bigby-Williams made back-to-back baskets. Skylar Mays, Waters and Naz Reid also made field goals to push LSU on top 82-74 with 2:43 to play. Georgia missed four of its six field goal attempts in this stretch.

LSU PLAYER OF THE GAME

Smart scored a season-high 19 points for the Tigers. He was 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers. Smart also sank all four of his free throw attempts. Smart made more than 50 percent of his field goal attempts for the first time against a SEC opponent. Smart was 1-of-16 on 3-point shots in the previous five games. With LSU behind 58-53, Smart made two free throws. Smart’s 3-pointer tied the score at 59-59 with 12:07 remaining in the game.  

KEY TEAM STATISTICS

Field goal shooting: LSU 56% (30-of-54), Georgia 47% (27-of-57)

Three-point field goal shooting: Georgia 44% (7-of-16), LSU 39% (5-of-13)

Free throw shooting: LSU 78% (18-of-23), Georgia 72% (18-of-25)

Rebounds: LSU 30, Georgia 30

Offensive rebounds: Georgia 14, LSU 11

Turnovers: LSU 8, Georgia 11

Points off turnovers: LSU 17, Georgia 6

Points in the paint: LSU 40, Georgia 30

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

LSU

Tremont Waters: 20 points, 5 assists

Javonte Smart: 19 points

Naz Reid: 13 points, 6 rebounds

Kavell Bigby-Williams: 9 points, 8 rebounds

GEORGIA

Nicolas Claxton: 17 points, 6 rebounds

Rayshaun Hammonds: 13 points

Jordan Harris: 12 points, 7 rebounds

Derek Ogbeide: 12 points, 5 rebounds

NOTES

LSU’s starting lineup consisted of Bigby-Williams and Reid in the post, Mays and Marlon Taylor on the wings and Waters at point guard. All five starters played more than 20 minutes. Smart played 30 minutes off the bench. Mays was on the floor for a team-high 34 minutes. . .Waters led the way with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. He was 2-of-6 on 3-pointers. Waters has scored at least 20 points in five SEC games. . .Reid scored all 13 of his points in the second half when he was 5-of-9 from the field. Reid has scored in double figures in five consecutive games. . .Bigby-Williams had another solid game. Bigby-Williams, who was 4-of-6 from the field, blocked three shots. . .Mays finished with six points in 34 minutes. He took only four shots – making two. . .Taylor had eight point and four rebounds in 24 minutes. . .Neither Emmitt Williams nor Darius Days was much of a factor. Williams had six points and two rebounds in 13 minutes, Days had two points and one rebound in nine minutes. . .Trailing 20-14, LSU went on a 17-2 run in the first half. Waters sank two 3-pointers in that stretch. Taylor had a field goal and two free throws. . .With Claxton accounting for six points, Georgia reduced its deficit to four points at the half at 41-37. . .The Bulldogs scored five consecutive points to trail 82-79 with 53 seconds remaining in the game. Georgia had a chance to tie the score with a 3-pointer, but Claxton missed a 2-point shot with 19 seconds to play. Mays made it a two-possession game by making one of two free throws with 15 seconds remaining. . .LSU moved into a tie with Tennessee for first place in the SEC. The Volunteers lost at Kentucky 86-69 on Saturday night. The Tigers are 21-4 overall, 11-1 in the SEC. . .LSU stopped a five-game losing streak in Athens. The Tigers’ last victory at Stegeman Coliseum had come in 2009. . .Georgia is 10-15 overall, 1-11 in the SEC. The Bulldogs have lost ten straight conference games. . .The paid attendance was 10,298.      

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM

Coach Will Wade’s comments: “We knew this was going to be a tough game coming off the Kentucky game. It was a tough week for us. We made some adjustments and played better in the second half. We just wanted to get out of here with a win.”

UP NEXT

LSU will play host to Florida at the PMAC on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central. The Gators (14-11, 6-6) defeated Alabama 71-53 in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon. The LSU-Florida game will be available on ESPN2.