LSU loses to Florida 82-77 in overtime
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KeVaughn Allen scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in overtime as Florida defeated LSU 82-77 in a Southeastern Conference game at the PMAC on Wednesday night.
DECISIVE STRETCH OF THE GAME
With the score tied at 70-70 midway through the overtime period, Allen connected on 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Gators a six-point advantage with 1:09 remaining in the game. Florida extended its lead to seven points at 78-71 when Allen sank two free throws with 47 seconds remaining. After Skylar Mays made two foul shots, Allen hit two more free throws to put the Gators ahead 80-74 with 24 seconds left. LSU had a chance to tie the score in the final 15 seconds. Tremont Waters made a 3-pointer and Javonte Smart then made a steal. However, Waters missed a shot from behind the 3-point line. Noah Locke clinched the victory for Florida by making two free throws with eight seconds remaining.
LSU PLAYER OF THE GAME
Naz Reid nearly carried the Tigers to victory in regulation. Reid scored just three points in the first 25 minutes of the game. He converted a three-point play early in the first half. Reid had 11 points in the last 15 minutes of the second half. A field goal by Reid tied the score at 42-42 with 14:22 left in the second half. His 3-pointer with 3:19 to go in regulation gave LSU a 60-57 lead. After the Tigers fell behind in the final two minutes, Reid scored on two occasions to tie the score. Two foul shots by Reid tied the score at 62-62 with 1:20 to play. Then, a field goal by Reid tied the score at 64-64 with 35 seconds remaining. Neither team scored in the last 35 seconds. Reid, who was 5-of-12 from the field, finished with 15 points and a season-high 16 rebounds.
KEY TEAM STATISTICS
Field goal shooting: Florida 46% (30-of-65), LSU 43% (27-of-63)
Three-point field goal shooting: Florida 37% (11-of-30), LSU 32% (7-of-22)
Free throw shooting: Florida 85% (11-of-13), LSU 64% (16-of-25)
Rebounds: LSU 38, Florida 36
Offensive rebounds: LSU 18, Florida 15
Turnovers: Florida 14, LSU 14
Points off turnovers: Florida 21, LSU 7
Steals: Florida 9, LSU 6
Assists: Florida 12, LSU 9
Bench points: Florida 21, LSU 13
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
LSU
Skylar Mays: 18 points
Naz Reid: 15 points, 16 rebounds
Kavell Bigby-Williams: 10 points, 6 rebounds
Marlon Taylor: 10 points, 5 rebounds
Tremont Waters: 10 points
FLORIDA
KeVaughn Allen: 21 points
Noah Locke: 15 points, 5 rebounds
Jalen Hudson: 15 points
Kevarrius Hayes: 10 points, 7 rebounds
Andrew Nembhard: 8 points, 8 assists
Keyontae Johnson: 7 points, 6 rebounds
NOTES
LSU’s starting lineup consisted of Bigby-Williams and Reid in the post, Mays and Taylor on the wings and Waters at point guard. All five starters played more than 25 minutes. Smart played 32 minutes off the bench. Mays was on the floor for a team-high 40 minutes. . .Mays made at least 50 percent of his field goal attempts for the first time in seven games. Mays was 6-of-12 from the field. However, he missed four of his six 3-points shots. . .Waters had a poor game as Florida was determined to get the ball out of his hands. Waters was 3-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-8 on 3-pointers. Both of his 3-point shots came during overtime. In LSU’s five losses, Waters has shot 28 percent from the field (15-of-53), including 22 percent on 3-pointers (7-of-22). Waters had four assists and three turnovers Wednesday. In the five defeats, Waters has handed out 20 assists and has committed 25 turnovers. . .Bigby-Williams, who was 3-of-5 from the field and 4-of-6 at the foul line, blocked three shots. . .Taylor made two of his three 3-point shots. Taylor had made just two 3-pointers in the previous nine games. . .Smart had four points and one assist in 32 minutes. Smart was 2-of-8 from the field, including 0-for-3 on 3-pointers. Darius Days had nine points and four rebounds in 11 minutes. Emmitt Williams had no points and two rebounds in 14 minutes. . .Reid was responsible for five of the Tigers’ 14 turnovers. . .Hudson, who averaged 16 points per game for Florida last season, has been benched for poor play this season. Hudson, who was averaging seven points per game, was 6-of-13 from the field – including 3-of-7 on 3-pointers. . .The Florida freshmen Johnson, Nembhard, Locke and Isaiah Stokes combined for 32 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. LSU’s four freshmen combined for 29 points, 24 rebounds and two assists. . .The Tigers’ only lead of the first half came at 2-0 on a basket by Taylor. The Gators, who led by as much as eight points in the first half, were on top 33-31 at the break. . .The Tigers took their first lead in the second half at 44-42 on a basket by Bigby-Williams with 13:46 to play in regulation. Only once did LSU have more than a two-point lead in the entire game – 60-57 following a Reid 3-pointer with 3:19 remaining in the second half. . .Florida scored points on eight of its ten overtime possessions. . .The Tigers have played five overtime games in a season for just the second time. LSU was 3-2 in overtime games four seasons ago. The Tigers are also 3-2 in overtime games this season. . .LSU is 21-5 overall, 11-2 in the SEC. The Tigers are tied with Kentucky for second place in the SEC – one game behind Tennessee. . . Florida is 15-11 overall, 7-6 in the SEC. . .The Tigers have lost four of their last five games against the Gators. . .The paid attendance was 10,976. The actual crowd was a little less than 9,000.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Will Wade’s comments: “We could just never get in rhythm. The game was played at Florida’s pace. We could never get ourselves going and Florida was able to impose their style of play on us. We didn’t finish well enough at the rim. We didn’t shoot free throws like we normally shoot free throws. We weren’t very crisp. Florida beat us to a lot of 50-50 balls. They were more physical. I told our guys all week that Florida was going to give us unbelievable resistance defensively. I don’t think some of our guys believed it.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play host to Tennessee at the PMAC on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. Central. The Volunteers (24-2, 12-1) defeated Vanderbilt 58-46 in Knoxville on Tuesday night, The LSU-Tennessee game will be available on ESPN.