The LSU Tigers’ men’s basketball team has had a rough start to the SEC part of their schedule. In their first two games, the Bayou Bengals lost by eight to Vanderbilt and were blown out by Missouri earlier in the week 83-67. This time, LSU kept it close through the first 20 minutes before getting blown out in the second half and losing to Ole Miss 77-65, dropping their record to 11-5 and 0-3 in SEC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both teams struggled to shoot the basketball in the first half, each shooting 37% and under from the floor.
Despite the poor shooting, Ole Miss began the game with a 7-0 run through the first 4:10. Curtis Givens fouled Sean Pedulla who made both free throws and found Davon Barnes for a layup on the next possession. Pedulla then assisted on Jaylen Murray’s three-pointer a few minutes later to extend their lead.
LSU responded with a 15-0 over the next five minutes to take their first game lead. Cam Carter kickstarted the run with a midrange jumper, secured the rebound on a Jaemyn Brakefield miss, and hit Jordan Sears for a transition three. Daimion Collins scored twice in the paint with a two-hand slam and a putback layup. Dji Bailey and Carter capped off the run with a couple of layups to put the Tigers up 15-7 with 10:43 to go in the first half.
Rebels forward Malik Dia took over the next few minutes, scoring five straight with a couple of layups before Dre Davis tied the game with a shot from behind the arc. The basket was assisted by Dia.
The Tigers took a 23-17 with an 8-2 run. Corey Chest found Carter for an open three and Sears hit a contest tear drop shot near the free throw line. Collins then converted an and-one layup opportunity with less than five minutes to play before the break. After that, it was all Rebels.
LSU’s offense went cold as Ole Miss went into the half with an 11-3 run. Matthew Murrell hit back-to-back threes within 30 seconds of each other to tie the game. Sears hit a three at the three-minute mark but that shot was cancelled out by Pedulla scoring from downtown. Brakefield’s layup with under a minute to play put the Rebels up as the Tigers went into the locker room down 28-26.
It didn’t get any easier for LSU in the second half.
Ole Miss made their first three shots coming out of the break. Davis scored on the opening possession and Dia continued to be a force in the paint scoring in the paint twice, one was an open lane dunk and the other was a layup. Dia also blocked Carter’s layup on the following possession before Collins threw down another two-hand slam.
Carter hit a jumper to make it a six-point difference with less than 17 minutes to in the game. That would be the closest LSU would be to having a lead the rest of the way.
Ole Miss went on a 14-4 run to enlarge the gap between them and LSU. Pedulla was credited with the assist on a Murray jump shot and picked Sears’ pocket to score the easy fastbreak layup. Davis made his second three-pointer and Dia followed that with one of his own two minutes later. Murray capped off the run with another midrange make to put the Rebels up 50-34 with 12:17 remaining in the second half.
The Rebels were on cruise control the rest of the way. The Tigers’ offense woke up late and outscored them by four in the final 12 minutes but it was nowhere near enough as LSU fell 77-65. The loss put head coach Matt McMahon’s group’s record at 11-5 and winless in conference play.
BIG NUMBER: 5
Five Ole Miss players scored double digits in Saturday night’s game versus LSU. Malik Dia led the way with 19 points and Jaemyn Brakefield scored 16 off the bench. The Tigers had three players score 10 or more points as Cam Carter had 16 Daimion Collins added another 14 in the loss.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Malik Dia
The junior forward gave LSU trouble on Saturday, scoring 19 points on 8-14 shooting. Dia was also an impact player for Ole Miss on defense as he grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots as the Rebels defeated the Tigers 77-65.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers will return home next week for a matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Tipoff in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center is set for 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14th and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.