Georgia hands LSU 15th straight loss
J.J. Frazier made two foul shots with 1.6 seconds remaining in the game to enable Georgia to hand LSU a school-record 15th consecutive defeat 82-80 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens on Saturday night.
TURNING POINT OF GAME
The Tigers scored nine consecutive points to go ahead 80-77 with 52 seconds remaining in the game. LSU had the ball with a one-point advantage inside the 15-second mark. Antonio Blakeney missed a 3-point shot. The Tigers had two good chances at scoring following offensive rebounds. But, neither Duop Reath nor Wayde Sims could get their controlled tip to go down. The Bulldogs got possession of the ball when it went out of bounds off Reath with six seconds left.
KEY STRETCH OF GAME
With Georgia trailing by one point, it was obvious that coach Mark Fox’s intention was to get the ball in the hands of Frazier and let him take the ball the length of the court. Jalyn Patterson and Blakeney were assigned to prevent Frazier from catching the inbounds pass. However, a screen enabled Frazier to get free and receive the ball. Frazier split Patterson and Blakeney and dribbled the ball into the front court. Frazier drove past Brandon Sampson and got to the rim where he was fouled by Reath. Frazier made both free throws to give the Bulldogs an 81-80 lead. Sims’ inbounds pass into the front court was intercepted by Derek Ogbeide, who made one of two foul shots for the final margin.
LSU’S PLAYER OF THE GAME
The Tigers went to Blakeney down the stretch in their attempt to pull off the upset. Blakeney, who finished with a team-high 20 points, made two of three free throw attempts with 6:21 to play which tied the score at 69-69. He made two foul shots one minute later to bring LSU within one point at 72-71. His basket with 52 seconds to play gave the Tigers a three-point lead at 80-77. Blakeney has scored 20 points in six straight games – the first time a LSU player has accomplished that feat in eight seasons. Marcus Thornton scored at least 20 points in six straight games in 2009. Blakeney, who was 7-of-18 from the field, had five rebounds and three assists.
KEY TEAM STATISTICS
Both teams shot the well. LSU made 47 percent of its field goal attempts (28-of-60), including 37 percent of its 3-point shots (7-of-19). Georgia shot 50 percent from the field (27-of-54), including 42 percent on 3-pointers (8-of-19). . .The Tigers outrebounded the Bulldogs 34-29. . .LSU’s reserves outscored the Georgia backups 25-12. . .Both teams committed ten turnovers.
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
LSU
Antonio Blakeney: 20 points, 5 rebounds
Brandon Sampson: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists
Skylar Mays: 15 points
Wayde Sims: 9 points, 5 rebounds
GEORGIA
J.J. Frazier: 29 points, 8 assists
Juwan Parker: 12 points, 8 rebounds
Derek Ogbeide: 12 points
NOTES
LSU’s starting lineup consisted of Reath and Aaron Epps in the post, Blakeney and Sampson on the wings and Mays at point guard. . .The Tigers got very little from their two starting post players. Reath had two points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, while Epps accounted for three points and one rebound in 19 minutes. Reath and Epps were a combined 2-of-7 from the field. . .Sims and Brian Bridegwater provided more production coming off the bench. Both Sims and Bridgewater scored nine points. They were a combined 7-of-11 on field goal attempts. . .Mays was 4-of-8 from the field and 6-of-6 at the foul line. He had two assists and three turnovers. . .Patterson contributed seven points and three rebounds. . .Sampson made six of his ten field goal attempts, including 2-of-4 on 3-pointers. Sampson only scored three points in the second half. . .Georgia scored 13 straight points to go ahead 25-11 midway through the first half. Ogbeide scored seven of those 13 points. . .The Tigers reduced their deficit to seven points by halftime at 44-37. . .Trailing by eight points, LSU went on a 7-0 run early in the second half to make the game close. The seven points came on two foul shots by Bridgewater, a field goal by Sims and a three-point play by Patterson. That outburst left the Tigers behind 58-57 with 12:22 remaining in the game. . . LSU is 9-19 overall, 1-15 in the SEC. The Tigers are in last place – one game behind Missouri. . .Georgia is 17-12 overall, 8-8 in the SEC. The Bulldogs are in eighth place – one game behind Alabama, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. . .The paid attendance was 10,042.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Johnny Jones’ comments: “Our guys did a tremendous job. They played extra hard at the end of the first half to get it to seven points. Then, we may have played our best second half in a long time. We knew (Frazier) would be the guy taking the last shot. We knew there was enough time for him to get it to the rim. We wanted to make him change his shot and make it difficult for him at the basket if he got there.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play host to Tennessee at the PMAC on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central. The Volunteers (15-14, 7-9) lost to South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday afternoon. The LSU-Tennessee game will be available on the SEC Network.