BATON ROUGE — Darrel Mitchell has now made 235 three-pointers at LSU, but there may be none bigger than the 235th he hit with 11.2 seconds to play to rally LSU to a 78-77 win over Arkansas Wednesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The win keeps LSU tied at the top of the Southeastern Conference with Tennessee, the leaders in the East, at 8-1 and gives LSU its 16th win in 22 games, thus clinching a fifth consecutive winning season. Arkansas falls to 15-7 and 4-5 in the SEC West. LSU remains two games ahead of Alabama in the West (winners over Vanderbilt) and four games ahead of Arkansas with seven to play.
The Tigers travel to Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday for a 1 p.m. EST contest against the University of Florida. The Gators were upset at the O’Connell Center on Wednesday night by South Carolina, 71-67. JP Sports will televise the game regionally and the radio broadcast will be available on the LSU Sports Radio Network and in the Geaux Zone powered by USAgencies at LSUsports.net.
Mitchell’s game-winning shot from the top of the key followed a furious comeback by the Razorbacks that saw the Tigers lose a 75-63 lead which LSU had built on a Tyrus Thomas dunk with 4:35 to go. Ronnie Brewer made two free throws with 51 seconds remaining to cap a 14-0 run that put Arkansas ahead 77-75.
On LSU’s next possession, Garrett Temple missed a 3-point shot. The Tigers’ Glen Davis rebounded, but was tied up by Brewer. Arkansas got possession according to the arrow.
Sean McCurdy, who was inserted prior to the possession by Arkansas, was fouled with 24.4 seconds to go and missed both free throw attempts.
Tyrus Thomas rebounded the second attempt to set the stage for Mitchell’s game-winning basket. Following the bucket and with neither team having a time out, Brewer got the ball and missed a jump shot inside the circle and Mitchell grabbed the rebound to clinch the victory for LSU.
Mitchell led the Tigers with 27 points. Davis contributed 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Thomas scored 11 points. Brewer had 24 points for Arkansas (15-7, 4-5), whose five SEC losses have been by a total of 13 points. Jonathon Modica scored 20, while Darian Townes and Charles Thomas each had 10.
LSU shot 53.2 percent from the field for the game (33-of-62), and 7-of-15 from the arc. LSU out rebounded Arkansas, 39-32. Arkansas shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61), 6-of-16 from the arc. The Hogs were 17-of-22 at the free throw line, while LSU shot just 11 free throws and made five.
LSU returns home next Wednesday night at 7 p.m. to host Mississippi State.
LSU HEAD COACH JOHN BRADY
Opening Statement…
“College basketball is something, isn’t it? I thought we had the game won on a couple of different occasions when we had 14-point leads. I don’t think we played real smart down the stretch. We had some really careless turnovers uncharacteristic of how we’ve been playing. I remember Nick Saban saying this when he was our football coach. The main thing is LSU won the game. That’s the bottom line. We can dissect how it happened and what should have happened with some plays we should have made and could have made. But the bottom line is when it’s all said and done we we’re 8-1 in the SEC and on top in the SEC after nine games. That’s a great place to be.”
“We could have played better down the stretch. We made some careless turnovers. Arkansas made some plays, and you have to credit them. I was proud of our team for losing its composure for a while after it had tremendous composure. For the most part for about a six minute stretch we didn’t make the proper decisions to close the game out and it almost cost us. Darrel Mitchell showed why he’s a special senior with the shot that he made. But I told the team after it was over we deserved to win the game by how well we played for 36 minutes. I thought our team deserved to win the game by how well we played for a length of time.”
“College basketball is a funny game. If you don’t play smart down the stretch and finish games off, Arkansas is a talented team. They’ve had leads where they hadn’t finished games, and they lost another heartbreaker tonight. It was a good game for us to win, a big shot by Darrel Mitchell. When it’s all said and done, LSU is 8-1 in the league atop the SEC, and that’s what we’re trying to do. I know we’ve got to play better Saturday at Florida. I know we’ve got to make better decisions with the ball, particularly late in the game to have a chance there. It’s better to go down there 8-1 and having to watch a game tonight that I thought we deserved to win.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On if his game-winning shot is redemption for the similar one he missed at Connecticut…
“It’s not really redemption because it’s not UConn. But it was a really big shot and a really big win. They made a good run on us, and we were able to come back and I was able to hit the shot to win the game.”
On if he considered taking a 2-pointer for the last shot…
“I didn’t think about a 2(-pointer) at all actually. I came off the screen and Glen’s (Davis) man backed off of him and I was open so I took it.”
On how he felt when the last shot left his hands…
“I knew it was going in when I let it go. I don’t know where I was on the court. I just felt it. I felt good coming off the screen and was able to make the shot.”
ARKANSAS QUOTES
Head Coach Stan Heath
“Those kids are hurting. They are heavy. We are all heavy. We don’t have any choice but to bounce back. That was an incredible effort, just incredible — just the reserve those kids showed. I am proud of that. I have never experienced games like this where they just go south on you in different ways. I think this team is going to keep on fighting. That was a tough position for Sean (McCurdy) to be in. He is a competitive kid and I know how bad he hurts. I never expected the floor to open in that way. We just tried to get it in to Charles (Thomas) and Ronnie (Brewer).”
On Darrel Mitchell‘s game winner …
“That was an incredible shot my (Darrel) Mitchell. He’s definitely a candidate for MVP of the league, the way he is playing. We stepped up and he hit it with Charles’ hand in his face. That was an incredible shot.”
“Glen (Davis) and Mitchell are the leadership of their team. They are the guys that set the tone for them. That was an incredible performance. Twenty-seven for Mitchell. Those are two outstanding players and both of them are strong arguments for Player of the Year in the conference.”
“We never really got a handle on them defensively. They are hard to deal with. They’ve got it inside and outside. They have guys that don’t get the credit. Tasmin Mitchell and Tyrus Thomas are studs. They are good. They had chances to increase the lead and put away.
On Arkansas’ final possession …
“I wanted Ronnie and Charles to pretty much have that ball in their hands. More than anything, I didn’t want Sean to get down on himself. I’ll take that pressure. That is a great kid. More than anything, we wanted a chance to close that game at the free throw line. You just never know in a game situation how things pan out. I didn’t want him to be that guy. I really expected the veterans to be at the line.”
G Ronnie Brewer
On the final shot of the game …
“Coach said he wanted me with the ball at the end of the game. I was trying to get separation. I pump faked and he (Garrett Temple) jumped. I tried to step through and had an open look at the basket. Unfortunately, it didn’t fall for us.”
“I thought we had a great effort out there. We came together as a team on the road. We kept of fighting and never gave up. That showed a lot of character on our part. We tried to get more aggressive on the boards in the second half.”