ATHENS, Ga. — It rained threes from all angles, especially off the hand of Ezra Williams, on the 21st-ranked LSU Tigers Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum and when the damage was done the Tigers were on the short end of an 89-63 decision in the regionally televised Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Tigers fall to 9-2 for the season, 0-1 in the SEC and possibly out of the AP poll after a two week stay, while Georgia, expected to break into the poll after eight straight wins, is now 9-3 and 1-0 in the league.
LSU opens a four-game home stand on Wednesday night against Houston at 7 p.m. at the Maravich Assembly Center. LSU will also play Mississippi State on Saturday, Centenary on Jan. 15 and Ole Miss on Jan. 18. Tickets for all games are available at the LSU Athletic Ticket Office and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.
Georgia shot 11-of-17 from three-point range (64.7 percent), including seven of 10 in the second 20 minutes when Georgia outscored LSU, 54-31, after leading 35-32 at the half. For the game Georgia was 31-of-56, hitting 55.4 percent of their shots. Williams, a perfect 7-of-7 from three-point range, led Georgia with 25 points, while Jarvis Hayes had 20 points. Chris Daniels added 11 points and Jonas Hayes 10.
The Tigers were led in scoring by Jaime Lloreda with 17 points, with Ronald Dupree getting a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Torris Bright also was in double figures with 11 points with Collis Temple adding 10.
“Georgia was better than us today,” said LSU Coach John Brady. “They were extremely efficient and shot the ball well. If we played our best today, we still could not have beaten them.”
The game struggled to find a rhythm early on as the teams played a physical game on both ends. The game was tied four times in the first half, the last at 21-21. LSU would take a 23-21 lead with 7:01 to go in the half on a Lloreda bucket before Georgia went on a 7-0 run to take the lead for good, 28-23. LSU would close it to 35-32 at the intermission.
The two teams traded buckets for the first three minutes of the second half with the lead going from five to three with Bright’s drive to the bucket cutting Georgia to a 41-38 advantage with 17:18 to go in the contest.
But Williams hit three of his seven treys, Jarvis Hayes threw one in from NBA land and suddenly the Bulldog lead was 13, 58-45, with 13:28 to go, sending the paid crowd of 10,523 into delirium.
There wasn’t much LSU could do to stop the hot shooting Williams even though the Tigers were able to get buckets inside with Lloreda and Dupree.
“We have to get better on the perimeter,” said Brady. “Our perimeter players need to defend and shoot the ball better on a consistent basis. Georgia’s number two and three players were so much better today.”
“In the first half we were really anxious, reaching and grabbing,” said Georgia Coach Jim Harrick. “We forgot about making the pass and letter the open guy take the shot. In the second half, I thought we took a deep breath and relaxed, and then our defense was very, very good. We came out and shot the ball unbelievably, I thought.”