NASHVILLE — Collis Temple III hit a 22-foot three pointer with 22.7 seconds remaining to cut Eastern Division’s 3-seeded Georgia’s lead to 62-61 and then hit two free throws with 15.4 seconds left to give the LSU men’s basketball team a 63-62 upset victory over the Bulldogs in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Thursday night.
LSU advanced to play No. 4-seeded Arkansas in the second round on Friday night at 8:45. Georgia awaits a postseason tournament bid with a 16-14 record.
The Tigers (13-15) trailed 60-56 with 1:30 remaining after a three-point play by Georgia’s Shon Coleman on a second-chance attempt. A missed shot by the Tigers forced LSU to send Georgia’s Rashad Wright to the free throw line. Wright missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and Ronald Dupree was fouled driving to the lane on the other end.
Dupree’s free throws cut the lead to 60-58 with 1:11 to play. A Coleman layup as time ran out on the shot clock pushed the lead back to four and led to Temple’s heroics. Georgia had a chance to win the game, however, D.A. Layne opted to pass up a layup and Wright missed a three-pointer from the right baseline as time expired.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Tigers, as Dupree and Jermaine Williams each scored 14, Temple and Torris Bright had 12, and senior Brian Beshara recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Layne led Georgia with 24 points including six three pointers. Coleman added 11 and Ezra Williams had 12.
The Tigers struggled from the field throughout the evening, as Georgia maintained a lead of three to five points throughout most of the second half. LSU led at halftime, 32-31. The Tigers shot 21-of-54 from the field for 39 percent, including only 8-of-22 in the second half. LSU’s only three pointer in seven second-half attempts was Temple’s with 22.7 seconds remaining.
One key to the victory was the LSU free throw shooting, as the Tigers hit 16-of-21 (76 percent) in the game including 14-of-19 in the second half. LSU had 10 steals, while turning the ball over only eight times.