Tough loss on the road
A pair of last-second shots failed to find their mark, resulting in LSU holding on to beat Georgia Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, 67-66.
Georgia was down by one with 15.3 seconds after a pair of free throws by Will Baker gave the Tigers their lead. The Bulldogs inbounded the ball, with Justin Hill driving to the glass with seven seconds left, only to have his shot bounce off the rim.
Dylan James was there for the offensive rebound, but after a dish to Noah Thomasson, Jalen Reed blocked his shot into the hands of teammate Jordan Wright, who whipped the ball to the other side of the court as the clock ticked down to zero.
“We needed a stop and a score. We didn’t get a stop, we didn’t score, they didn’t foul, and that was it,” head coach Mike White said. “I thought Justin Hill and Noah Thomasson did a really good job, and the extra possession created by Dylan James due to his activity was a heck of a play.”
Although there appeared to be some contact, no foul was forthcoming.
As a result, Georgia falls to 15-12 overall, and 5-10 in SEC play ahead of Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.
“There’s a tough environment in our locker room, because our guys laid it on the line,” White said. “They played as hard as they have all year, and in many ways, I thought they deserved that win. But LSU did, too, and those guys are playing their best basketball of the year, and they made a lot of plays. Tough loss for us, but a good win for LSU.”
Coming into play, Georgia was 25-1 under White when holding an opponent to under 70 points.
Thomasson led the Bulldogs with 16 points, followed by Hill with 11.
James also enjoyed arguably his best game, scoring nine points in 18 minutes.
“I was really proud of his activity. His motor has improved immensely from the first day of practice, just adjusting to this level,” White said. “He’s a 6-9 guy with great length and with good skill level that’s transformed his game in a pretty quick way from being a block guy who picks and pops to a guy who plays on the perimeter both offensively and defensively. He’s just made big strides. He continues to progress, just like our other freshman.”
One player who did not see action was junior RJ Melendez.
Melendez traveled with the team but did not play.
“It wasn’t a premeditated thing going into the game. What was premeditated was trying to insert MA Moncrieffe, trying to get him a little bit of time. I think he’s earned it in practice,” White said. “We’re missing a little bit of an edge the past month compared to the way we were playing earlier in the year. That’s just one category, one factor. We’re a little bit different with MA out there offensively. Defensively, we’re different, too, and we’re different on the glass.”
Another lineup change for the Bulldogs saw freshman Blue Cain receive the start over Jabri Abdur-Rahim.
Cain scored eight points with four rebounds and did not have a single turnover in 21 minutes.
“Blue is someone we’re trying to find more minutes for. Noah Thomasson is playing his best basketball of the year; Justin Hill, Silas (Demary Jr.),” White said. “When you’re counting heads, counting minutes, he (Melendez) just happened to be the guy who was the odd man out tonight.”
The Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run to cut LSU’s first-half lead to 23-19. But that’s when the team went cold.
Georgia did not score for the next 6:18 until a layup by James put the Bulldogs back on the board.
Meanwhile, LSU (15-13, 7-8) hit five of its last seven shots in the half to take a 40-27 lead.
Georgia returns to action Saturday when the Bulldogs host Texas A&M at 6.