FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Look out SEC, the LSU Tigers have figured out how to win on the road.
After dropping their first three conference road matches, the Tigers (21-4 overall, 8-4 SEC) won their third straight SEC game away from home today, bouncing Arkansas, 78-67, behind a career-high 23 points from Lamont Roland.
The win was the first in nine tries for the Tigers in Fayetteville, as they completed their first-ever season sweep of Arkansas (13-12, 5-7).
Roland scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half when the Tigers broke open a four-point halftime lead by outscoring the Razorbacks 44-37. Roland also led the Tigers with nine rebounds as LSU dominated the glass to the tune of a 44-32 advantage.
After allowing Arkansas to shoot nearly 45 percent in the opening half, the Tigers tightened things up defensively in the second half, limiting the Razorbacks to just 32 percent from the floor on 12-of-37 shooting.
While opposing teams continue to question the Tigers depth, they always seem to come up with an answer. When Stromile Swift got into foul trouble Saturday and was limited to just seven points in 22 minutes, Ronald Dupree stepped up and had, perhaps, his best outing of the season, dropping 13 points on the Razorbacks.
Brian Beshara drilled a three-pointer with four seconds remaining in the first half to give the Tigers a 34-30 lead at halftime. The Tigers led by as many as 11 points in the first half but had to fend off a furious charge by the Razorbacks in the final three minutes of the opening half.
LSU opened the game on an 11-2 run and appeared in control for most of the first half, maintaining a double-figure lead for a bulk of the first half.
After a Dupree free throw put the Tigers up 29-18, the Razorbacks heated up from behind the arc and went on a 12-2 run before Beshara’s three-pointer to close the first half scoring.
Roland led the Tigers with eight first half points, while Swift added seven points despite just two shots from the floor and Dupree chipped in with six points in 13 of his strongest minutes of the season off the bench.
LSU will look to make it four in a row away from the PMAC on Wednesday evening when the Tigers travel to South Carolina.