NEW ORLEANS — Trying to earn its first berth in the SEC Tournament since 1993, the LSU men’s basketball team ran into a red-hot Mississippi State squad in the semifinal round and saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end, 72-61, on Saturday afternoon in the Louisiana Superdome.
Mississippi State (22-8) will face the winner of Kentucky and Auburn in the tournament final on Sunday at noon.
The Tigers (21-10) await their first berth in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday when the 65-team field is announced on CBS at 5 p.m. CST.
Playing their third game in as many days, the Tigers struggled to 43.6 percent from the field (24 of 55) despite making 6-of-15 three-pointers.
Four Tigers scored in double figures, led by Jaime Lloreda, Collis Temple III and Antonio Hudson with 11 each. Lloreda completed his double double with 11 rebounds, while Torris Bright had 10 points and four assists.
Mississippi State made 48.7 percent of its field goals attempts — including 10-of-19 three-pointers — and had an answer for every run the Tigers made in both halves. The Bulldogs were led by guard Timmy Bowers, who scored a career-high 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting including six three-pointers in nine attempts.
Michal Ignerski added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Mario Austin added 14 points. Point guard Derrick Zimmerman nearly chipped in a triple double as the 6-3 senior had nine points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.
The Tigers, who beat hapless Arkansas by 29 in the first round before upsetting No. 7 Florida in the quarterfinal, trailed 30-16 with 7:10 to play in the first half before catching fire on both ends of the court.
After tying the game at 7-7 at the 16:-8 mark on a Temple three-pointer, LSU allowed Mississippi State to go on a 19-5 run and take a 26-12 lead with 8:53 to play in the half.
Mississippi State made its first five three-pointers of the game before missing their first with 9:23 on the clock.
LSU capitalized on State’s cool-down with a run of three-pointers of its own. Bright and Temple each hit treys and Hudson scored a layup off a steal to get the Tigers within eight, 32-24, at the 4:49 mark.
Dupree answered a Zimmerman dunk with a 15-footer and then a strong move to the goal for a layup.
LSU’s 16-4 run to end the first half concluded with a 16-foot jumper by Hudson and a short basket off the glass by Temple with two seconds to play in the half.
LSU trailed 34-32 at halftime.
Mississippi State used a 9-2 run to start the second half to extend the lead to 43-34 in the first 2:34 of the half.
The Tigers cut the lead back to three, 45-42, on the strength of a three-point play by Dupree, a three-pointer by Xavier Whipple and a layup by Lloreda.
However, the Bulldogs got the spark they needed offensively. They scored the game’s next 10 points on three-pointers by Austin and Bowers, as well as layups by Austin and Vincent.
After the 12-minute media timeout, Lloreda scored five straight to get LSU within eight, 55-47.
The Tigers stayed within eight until the Bulldogs scored six straight points — including Bowers’ sixth three pointer — to lead 66-54 with 5:27 to play.
LSU scored four in a row to trail 66-58 at the 3:14 mark, but that would be the last gasp in the tournament for the Tigers.
LSU awaits its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2000, as the 65-team bracket will be announced on Sunday at 5 p.m. CST.
2003 SEC Tournament
March 13-16, 2003
Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, La.
First Round
Game 1: (W5) Ole Miss def. (E4) South Carolina, 62-56
Game 2: (W3) LSU def. (W6) Arkansas, 85-56
Game 3: (E5) Vanderbilt def. (W4) Alabama, 82-69
Game 4: (E3) Tennessee received bye
Quarterfinal Round
Game 5: (W1) Mississippi State def. (W5) Ole Miss, 73-64
Game 6: (W3) LSU def. (E2) Florida, 65-61
Game 7: (E1) Kentucky def. (E5) Vanderbilt, 81-63
Game 8: (W2) Auburn def. (E3) Tennessee, 66-53
Semifinal Round
Game 9: (W1) Mississippi State def. (W3) LSU, 76-61
Game 10: (E1) Kentucky vs. (W2) Auburn, 2:15 p.m. (JP Sports)
Finals
Game 11: (W1) Mississippi State vs. Game 10 winner, Noon (CBS)