LSU nips Florida in overtime 79-78, 1st place tie in SEC

LSU stopped Florida on three straight possessions in the final two minutes of overtime to come away with a 79-78 Southeastern Conference victory at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville on Wednesday night.

DECISIVE STRETCH OF THE GAME

The Tigers jumped out to a 79-74 lead in the first two minutes of overtime. Javonte Smart made a field goal and Tremont Waters knocked down a 3-pointer in the first minute of the extra period. Following a field goal by Jalen Hudson, Naz Reid made a jumper to put LSU ahead 79-74 with 3:09 remaining. The Tigers did not score again as they came up empty on four possessions. The Gators reduced their deficit to one point at 79-78 on a field goal by Andrew Nembhard and two free throws by Kevarrius Hayes. Florida had three chances to take the lead. First, Keyontae Johnson missed a jumper. Then, Kavell Bigby-Williams blocked a shot at the rim by Hudson. The Gators had the ball following a timeout with eight seconds remaining. Thanks to some effective defense, Florida did not get off a shot before the final buzzer.

LSU PLAYER OF THE GAME

Waters made the biggest play of the game with his length-of-the-court layup with three seconds to play in regulation. That field goal, which followed a 3-point basket by Hudson just seconds earlier, sent the game into overtime tied at 72-72. Waters, who played 35 minutes off the bench, led the Tigers with 19 points. Waters, who handed out six assists, was 8-of-16 from the field. He made two of his four 3-point shots.

KEY TEAM STATISTICS

Field goal shooting: Florida 45% (26-of-58), LSU 43% (31-of-72)  

Three-point field goal shooting: Florida 36% (9-of-25), LSU 32% (6-of-19)

Free throw shooting: LSU 69% (11-of-16), Florida 68% (17-of-25)

Rebounds: LSU 46, Florida 36

Offensive rebounds: LSU 20, Florida 11

Second chance points: LSU 20, Florida 8

Points in the paint: LSU 44, Florida 26

Bench points: LSU 34, Florida 13

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

LSU

Tremont Waters: 19 points, 6 assists

Javonte Smart: 15 points

Emmitt Williams: 13 points, 14 rebounds

Skylar Mays: 11 points

Naz Reid: 9 points, 5 rebounds

Kavell Bigby-Williams: 4 points, 7 rebounds

FLORIDA

Jalen Hudson: 33 points

Keyontae Johnson: 15 points

Noah Locke: 10 points

Kevarrius Hayes: 8 points, 15 rebounds

Andrew Nembhard: 5 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 Smart at point guard. Three starters played at least 30 minutes – Mays (43), Smart (40) and Reid (30). Waters came off the bench and played 35 minutes. . .Williams was the Tigers’ best post player as he recorded his third double-double of the season. Williams’ 14 rebounds were a season-high. He was 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 at the foul line. . .LSU won with Mays not having a good shooting night. He was 3-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-6 on 3-pointers. . .Smart scored in double figures for the fourth straight game as a starter. Smart has scored 80 points in those four games. . .Reid and Bigby-Williams were a combined 6-of-15 from the field. . .Darius Days had two points and three rebounds in six minutes. . .Marlon Taylor had six points in 18 minutes. . .LSU built a 32-21 lead with six minutes before halftime. Williams scored the Tigers’ last nine points in that span. . .Florida, which trailed 34-31 at halftime, went ahead with 16:55 to play at 41-39 on a 3-pointer by Nembhard. The Gators took an eight-point lead at 62-54 with 6:15 left in the second half. Hudson scored 18 straight points for Florida as it outscored expanded a three-point advantage. . .The Tigers retook the lead with a 10-0 run. Mays and Smart made 3-pointers, while Williams and Waters had two-point baskets. LSU did not trail again until Hudson’s 3-pointer in the final seconds. . .The Tigers won their fifth overtime game against SEC teams this season. Four of those five victories have come on the road. LSU went 9-0 away from home in the SEC for the first time in school history. . .The Tigers are 25-5 overall, 15-2 in the SEC. LSU is tied with Tennessee for first place in the conference. The Tigers can clinch no worse than a tie for the SEC title by defeating Vanderbilt on Saturday. With a victory, LSU will be the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament. The Vols play at Auburn on Saturday. . .Florida is 17-13 overall, 9-8 in the SEC. . .The paid attendance was 9,550.

UP NEXT

LSU will play host to Vanderbilt at the PMAC on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Central. The Commodores (9-21, 0-17) lost to Arkansas in Nashville on Wednesday night. The LSU-Vanderbilt game will be available on the SEC Network.

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