FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Playing on the road in his first Southeastern Conference game didn’t seem to phase LSU true-freshman Brandon Bass. The forward from Capitol High School in Baton Rouge scored 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting to lead the Tigers past the Arkansas Razorbacks, 66-55, Tuesday night in the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
LSU (10-1, 1-0 SEC) defeated Arkansas (8-4, 0-1 SEC) for the fifth time in their last six meetings. The Tigers shot only 41% from the field, but capitalized on 17 Arkansas team fouls to shoot 19-26 from the free throw line.
In addition to their foul trouble, the Hogs struggled from the field, hitting just 22 of their attempted 67 field goals for an anemic 33%.
LSU received yet another big performance from guard Darrel Mitchell. Despite suffering a head injury during a fast-break late in the first half, Mitchell returned to contribute 13 points for the game. He was the only other Tiger in double-figures.
Senior forward Jaime Lloreda led the Tigers in rebounds with 15, however the Arkansas zone closed tightly around him for most of the game, limiting him to just seven points, his lowest performance of the season.
On the other side of the court, the Hogs were led by senior center Billy Pharis. Pharis led all scorers with 21 points and added 11 rebounds to pace Razorbacks. LSU’s defense shut down the Hog’s leading scorer as well. Sophomore guard Jonathon Modica was held to just 11 points, nine below his season average.
Unlike the Houston game, LSU was able to capitalize on the tight zone defense played by the Hogs. Guards Xavier Whipple, Antonio Hudson, and Tack Minor combined for 24 points, including two 3-pointers from Minor and one from Whipple.
The standout of the game for LSU was Bass and the great amount of composure he showed down the stretch. Bass scored 12 of his points in the second half, and hit two key buckets to answer previous shots made by Arkansas.
In addition to the play of Bass, LSU sealed the victory with superb free-throw shooting down-the-stretch. With LSU ahead 56-47 at the 2:05 mark in the second half, the Tigers made 11 of 12 from the charity stripe, sealing their victory.
LSU will take a day off from practice on Wednesday, and return to work on Thursday in preparation of their SEC home opener against Alabama on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Although the game will be televised on JP Sports, all fans are encouraged to attend and cheer on the Tigers. Tickets are available online at www.LSUsports.net.
Quotes from head coach John Brady
“Tonight we made an effort to defend and allow them to shoot the three’s. We would rather them shoot outside than allow them easy lay-ups on the inside. We were able to contain well and rebound also.
“After Houston, we didn’t know what to expect. We made progress but then got to Houston and made major mistakes. I still don’t have all this figured out.
“Jaime (Lloreda) kept his composure when he didn’t score, but he did rebound really well. I really glad he kept his patience. He was a huge help in the middle.”
“We had a lot of careless turnovers. We allowed the score to get close because we didn’t take care of the ball. But we did get lucky. You have to get lucky on the road.
“Arkansas is a very athletic team. They are good off the dribble. I was very surprised they didn’t press us from the beginning.”