KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Despite a 30-point performance by Collis Temple III, and 23 from Ronald Dupree, the LSU men’s basketball team closed the regular season with a 78-71 loss Saturday as Tennessee earned its third straight win.
The Vols (21-9, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) won for the first time at home since Feb. 3 and beat LSU (12-15, 2-14) for the seventh straight time despite career-best outings by Tigers Temple and Dupree.
Tennessee led most of the game but had a hard time putting away the tenacious Tigers, who had stopped a nine-game losing streak Wednesday with a win over No. 14 Mississippi.
The Vols went ahead 67-62 on Yarbrough’s 3 with 6:17 left, but LSU cut it down to 69-67 again after Temple’s 3 two minutes later. Harris hit a 3 for a 75-71 lead with 2:56 to go, and Marcus Haislip made two free throws and Harris added another in the final minute to seal the win.
LSU took its first lead of the second half, 54-53, after an 8-1 run. All of it came on Dupree’s scoring. He hit a jumper, converted a three-point play after his dunk was tipped in and then a 3 with 10:39 left.
Tennessee rallied and regained its lead after Jenis Grindstaff’s 3 made it 59-54 with 8:55 left.
The Vols pushed their lead to 46-38 after an 8-0 early in the second half, but Temple and Brian Beshara each hit 3s for LSU to cut the lead to 46-44 with 14:22 left.
The Tigers couldn’t make a defensive stop, and Tennessee restored its lead to 52-46 after Harris Walker got a steal and Isiah Victor followed with a dunk with 12:36 to go.
Temple finished with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Dupree made 9-of-12 shots for 23 points. Both teams shot 27-of-52 from the field.
Tennessee took its biggest lead of the first half, 35-30 at halftime, after 10 lead changes despite a lackluster defensive performance.
Temple scored 14 points and Dupree had 11, and no Tennessee player had much success guarding either. The Vols’ best defensive player, Jon Higgins, was limited in playing time after picking up his third foul with 2:48 left in the first half.
Harris hit two 3s early and made two free throws for eight points in the first half.
Walker got a steal and high-flying slam where he hung on the rim long enough to swing parallel to the floor to give Tennessee a 27-25 lead with 7:23 to go before halftime. The Tigers tied it at 30 after Temple’s basket with 3:58 left, but the Vols held LSU scoreless the rest of the half.