Skylar Mays’ dunk following a steal by Tremont Waters broke a tie and lifted LSU to a 77-75 victory against Michigan in a first-round game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui on Monday night.
GAME-DECIDING STRETCH
With LSU trailing by nine points at 68-59 with slightly more than five minutes to play, Waters ignited a rally with a three-point play and a 3-pointer in a span of 33 seconds. The Tigers fell behind by six points at 73-67 on a 3-pointer by Moritz Wagner with 3:15 remaining in the game. Michigan did not make another field goal. A layup by Wayde Sims and a 3-pointer by Aaron Epps got LSU within a point at 73-72 with 2:08 to play. After Eli Brooks made one of two foul shots for the Wolverines, a basket by Waters tied the score at 74-74 with 1:34 to go. Then, Waters stole the ball from Brooks and fed Mays for his dunk while he was laying on the floor. Charles Matthews had an opportunity to tie the score, but he made only one of two free throws with nine seconds left. Waters made just one of two foul shots with five seconds remaining. Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman missed a long 3-point shot with two seconds to play and the Tigers had their two-point victory.
LSU PLAYER OF THE GAME
Waters scored a team-high 21 points – nine coming in the final 5:02 after the Tigers fell behind by nine points at 68-59. Waters was 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 on 3-pointers. He added four assists. Waters did commit a season-high five turnovers.
KEY TEAM STATISTICS
Field goal percentage – LSU 59% (27-of-46), Michigan 46% (27-of-59)
3-point field goal percentage – LSU 41% (7-of-17), Michigan 26% (6-of-23)
Offensive rebounds – Michigan 15, LSU 9
Second-chance points – Michigan 19, LSU 11
Bench points – LSU 23, Michigan 8
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
LSU
Tremont Waters: 21 points
Aaron Epps: 14 points
Duop Reath: 13 points, 5 rebounds
Brandon Sampson: 10 points
Skylar Mays: 8 points, 5 rebounds
MICHIGAN
Charles Matthews: 28 points, 8 rebounds
Moritz Wagner: 24 points, 7 rebounds
Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman: 12 points, 5 rebounds
NOTES
The LSU starting lineup consisted of Waters at point guard, Mays and Sampson on the wings and Reath and Sims in the post. . .Epps was a major contributor in his second game of the season. He came off the bench and was 6-of-7 from the field in 23 minutes. . .Both Sampson and Mays were 3-of-6 from the field. Sampson made two 3-pointers before fouling out. He was the primary defender against Duncan Robinson, who scored only three points. . .Reath made five of his nine field goal attempts, but he had big trouble guarding Wagner when he went out on the perimeter. . .Brandon Rachal is developing into a valuable reserve. Rachal defended Matthews fairly well down the stretch. He also accounted for seven points, four rebounds and four assists. . .A 10-0 run put Michigan ahead 58-53 with 8:06 remaining in the game. Robinson and Wagner made shots from behind the 3-point line in this stretch. . .The Wolverines never led in the first half. The score was tied just twice at 2-2 and 29-29. A basket by Mays put the Tigers on top 31-29 at halftime. . .LSU’s largest first-half lead was 22-15 with 5:43 remaining. The Tigers only had three field goals the rest of the half. . .The victory was the first for LSU in a non-conference game against a power league opponent in three seasons when it beat West Virginia 74-73. . .The Tigers are 3-0, while the Wolverines are 3-1. . .Other first-round winners in the tournament were Marquette, Wichita State and Notre Dame.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Will Wade’s comments: “Unbelievable. I’ve been a part of championships and I haven’t seen a locker room that happy. I can’t tell you how excited I am for our players. They’ve worked so hard. I told them before the game they deserve for something good to happen.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play Notre Dame in a semifinal game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Central. The Fighting Irish (4-0) defeated Chaminade 83-56 in a first-round game Monday night. The LSU-Notre Dame game will be available on ESPN.
