FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — LSU’s refuse-to-lose mentality struck again on Wednesday night as the 23rd-ranked Tigers erased an 18-point first half deficit to post a 72-69 win over Arkansas here at Bud Walton Arena.
Marcus Thornton scored a game-high 26 points to lead a trio of Tigers in double-figures. Tasmin Mitchell added 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Chris Johnson had 12 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Tigers.
Courtney Fortson and Rotnei Clark each had 17 points for the Razorbacks.
With the win, LSU improved to 22-4 overall and maintained a multi-game lead in the Southeastern Conference with a 10-1 mark. The win was the 10th-straight in league play for the Tigers, five of which have come on the road.
Arkansas dropped to 13-11 overall and 1-10 in conference action. LSU has now won 10 of its last 14 games against the Razorbacks, but it was the first Tiger win in Fayetteville since January of 2006.
LSU won despite playing its second straight game without starting point guard Bo Spencer, who missed the contest with a sprained ankle.
“It was an extremely hard fought victory for us tonight,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said. “Arkansas is an extremely talented team, and their youth is going to cause a lot of problems later on in this conference. They have a great skill set and the ability to cause a lot of turnovers.
Down 68-61 with just over five minutes left, the Tigers hustled and scrapped their way back into the game. Terry Martin got the comeback started with a three pointer at the 4:16 mark to pull LSU to within 68-64. After an Arkansas miss, Johnson got LSU to within a point, 68-66, with an offensive rebound and putback of a Martin miss. Thornton tied the score at 68-68 on LSU’s next possession. The Razorbacks took the lead for the final time, 69-68, on a free throw by Michael Washington with 2:13 to go.
Arkansas didn’t score again and Mitchell put the Tigers up for good, 70-69, on an 18-foot jumper with 1:46 to play. The Tigers took advantage of a pair of offensive rebounds in the final minute of the contest clinch the win. Garrett Temple‘s rebound of a Mitchell missed free throw led to a pair of free throws by Thornton, which put the Tigers up 72-69. Clark missed on its last second attempt of a three pointer.
The Tigers picked up in the second half right where the first half ended as LSU opened the final frame by outscoring the Razorbacks, 9-4 to take its first lead of the game, 37-36, on a Thornton free throw at the 16:12 mark. The teams went back-and-forth for the next two minutes before a 9-3 run gave Arkansas a 49-43 advantage with 12:32 to go.
The Razorbacks maintained a five point lead for the next seven minutes before a Thornton three pulled LSU to within 65-61 with 5:32 to go. Arkansas’ Michael Sanchez responded with a conventional three-point play to stretch the lead back to 68-61 with just over five minutes left setting up the final sequence of events for the LSU comeback.
“We are doing the little things, which is nice,” Johnson said. “We’re continuing to get better and we’re getting contributions from a lot of people. I’m happy for the team.”
The first half was all Arkansas as the Razorbacks opened the game by scoring the first seven points of the contest. LSU responded by scoring five straight points to pull to 7-5 on a Mitchell jumper at the 14:38 mark.
LSU then went cold from the field and Arkansas responded with a 17-4 run to take a 26-9 advantage on a jumper by Clarke at the 7:55 mark. Arkansas took its biggest lead of the first half at 28-10 on a jumper by Andre Clark at the 6:10 mark. The Tigers, however, looked to have finally gained their composure during the final five minutes of the half, outscoring the Hogs, 16-4, to pull to within 32-26 at halftime.
LSU’s 16-4 run during the final five minutes of the half was ignited by a three pointer by Thornton at the 4:41 mark. Thornton scored the final four points of the half to get the Tigers as close as they had been in the game since the 12 minute mark.
“We were awful in the first half,” Johnson said. “During the last three-to-five possessions, I thought our energy and reactions were good. At this point in the season, it is all just repetition. They know what they need to do and just have to execute.”
For the game, the Tigers shot 28-of-64 from the field for 43.8 percent. The Tigers struggled from the free throw line going just 12-of-24 from the stripe. Arkansas connected on 41 percent from the field and they were 13-of-19 from the free throw line. LSU outrebounded Arkansas, 39-31 and both teams committed 15 turnovers.
LSU returns to action on Saturday when they host Auburn at 7 p.m. at the Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU Head Coach Trent Johnson:
“It was an extremely hard fought victory for us tonight. Arkansas is an extremely talented team, and their youth is going to cause a lot of problems later on in this conference. They have a great skill set and the ability to cause a lot of turnovers.
“(On whether to foul at the end) We just wanted to keep them in front of us, the way they were pounding the glass we didn’t want to foul and give them a chance to get back in it.
“During the last three-to-five possessions, I thought our energy and reactions were good. At this point in the season, it is all just repetition. They know what they need to do and just have to execute.”
LSU Player Quotes:
“We did not hit any of our free throws at the beginning of the game. By the end of the game, though, we improved and that is what won us the game.
“We were really aggressive toward the players and we crashed the ball. We expected them to be aggressive and we got them out of sync. We executed a few shots early, but in the end, we were more aggressive. Our offensive rebounds also helped us in winning the game.”
“I had to settle down the second half. I waited until the ball came to me and it helped us to win the game.
“In the first half, I wasn’t making the free throws. I knew I had to make them in the second half or I wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.
“We wanted the win and they wanted the win, but hats off to my team and taking the big win. It was a tough one, even though we were ranked.
“Coach just told us to be poised and knock down the free throws in the second half. Him having confidence in me really helped as I made those last free throws.”
Arkansas Quotes:
(Head coach John Pelphrey was not available due to an illness)
Arkansas Assistant Coach Tom Ostrom:
“LSU is the best team in the league, the only team in the league that is ranked.”
“The effort and the attitude were there. We just didn’t make some plays at the end of the game, and we couldn’t finish it off.”
On Rotnei Clarke’s last shot…
“It was a tough look, but any look for Rotnei Clarke is probably a good look. It was definitely contested. If you are another coach, you do not want Rotnei Clarke getting the ball off at all.”
“Defense needs to end with a rebound. Our guys’ effort and toughness were there; we just couldn’t finish the defensive possession. We had three free-throw shots when they got the rebound. That will kill you. ”
“It’s a resilient bunch. They had an unbelievable practice yesterday. I know when they play well, when they come together as a team, they have the ability to be up there with the best of them.”
Arkansas Player Quotes
Courtney Fortson:
“Of course it’s tough to lose at home. LSU is a great team. They came here and wanted it, and they got the win.”
“We got the shots we wanted. It just wasn’t following through.”
Rotnei Clarke:
“We had opportunities to win that game, no matter what the time was.”
“We had a lot of energy on both sides of the floor. We were flying around, showing some passion.”
“Every time I hit a couple of shots, I knew they were going to stick to me a little more. (Courtney) Fortson and the rest of the guys did a great job of finding me.”
On the final shot…
“It wasn’t really executed. We were going to come down looking for something. He made both of his free-throws, so we knew we had to make it a tie game.”
Michael Sanchez:
“We definitely knew going into the game they were going to be a very athletic, very strong team. We knew they’d be crashing the boards hard.”