LSU puts up a fight in its 10th straight loss

After losing by 40 points at SEC-leading Alabama three Saturdays ago, the Tigers put a competitive fight Saturday afternoon in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center before losing 79-69 to the 4th ranked Crimson Tide.

Unlike its 106-66 loss to Alabama on Jan. 14 when the Tide led by 37 points at halftime, LSU (12-11, 1-9) pushed Alabama (20-3, 10-0) until the final buzzer.

The Tigers forced Alabama to miss its final 10 shots of the day. Yet LSU, for third straight game, had a closing offensive swoon missing 9 of its last 10 shots.

"Both teams struggled to score in the last seven minutes of the game," LSU first-year coach Matt McMahon said. "We got stops, but we weren't able to convert those into points. Credit their (Alabama) defense. We had some empty possessions. We had opportunities at the rim and failed to convert."

Mississippi State transfer sophomore forward Derek Fountain, in his first season playing for LSU, had a career and game-high 26 points.

"We were locked in and I think we're just tired of losing," Fountain said. "We just came out and played harder trying to stop the bleeding."

Noah Clowney’s 14 points led Alabama. Tide swingman Brandon Miller, the SEC’s leading scorer, was held to 10 points.

“It was definitely not one of our better wins but you know, sometimes when you’re competing for an elite championship you have to go on the road and win games that aren’t pretty; they’re ugly," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "Not our best performance but at this point when you play a team the second time on the road, those are hard ones to get. We’re at 10-0 and we’ve got a tough week ahead of us, a tough couple of weeks ahead of us to be honest with you.”

Though Alabama led 44-37 at halftime, it was still one of LSU’s best halves in SEC play this season.

Despite being outshot by Alabama 53.3 percent to 27.8 percent, the Tigers managed to get to intermission with a single-digit deficit.

Alabama nailed six first-half 3-pointers, four by Nimari Burnett who had made just 14 3-pointers all season entering Saturday’s game.

The Crimson Tide scored on five dunks off lobs, four by center Charles Bediako who entered the day having scored in double figures just three times in Alabama’s first 22 games.

Alabama led twice by 10 points in the final 1:23, but LSU refused to fold.

The Tigers aggressively attacked the basket and ended the half 13 of 14 from the free throw line. Alabama, settling for 3-pointers, was 6 of 6 in free throws and didn’t attempt its first free throw until 5:23 left in the half.

Besides Fountain carrying the LSU offense with 18 first-half points and 6 rebounds, the Tigers had just one first half turnover.

In the first seven minutes of the second half, LSU cut Alabama’s lead to two points three times at 50-48, 53-51 and 56-54. The Tide’s responses were a three-point play by Miller with a left-handed scoop layup and a free throw, two Jadebn Bradley free throws and a Rylan Griffen 3-pointer.

Griffen’s 3 started a run in which Alabama’s next 4 of 6 field goals were 3-pointers to push its lead to 12 points entering the game’s final six minutes.

LSU next plays at Mississippi State on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

"I think no one wants to hear this and I don't even like to talk about it," McMahon said. "We went through a stretch where we really didn't give ourselves an opportunity to win against some of the best teams in the country.

"I think we have made improvement in our practice habits in our preparation. You have to stay focused on that. When you're in a situation like this, you have to keep stacking days doing things the right way."