LSU forward KJ Williams trotted out every part of his game NBA scouts wanted to see Saturday afternoon.

The transfer from Murray State scored outside, inside and in between, finishing with 35 points and 10 rebounds as the Tigers came back from a 20-point first-half deficit to edge Wake Forest 72-70 in the Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.

Murray State transfer Juice Hill’s driving layup with 2.1 seconds left provided the game-winning points after Williams collected his 10th rebound tracking down a 3-point miss by Wake’s Damari Monsanto with 26 seconds left.

It capped a win that improved LSU to 8-1, an improbable victory after the Demon Deacons (7-3) of the Atlantic Coast Conference led 39-19 with 4:16 left in the first half.

“You’re down 20 and we look like we might not even have a pulse today,” LSU first-year head coach Matt McMahon said. “We kept talking in the huddle, just try to stay positive and maybe we got to find a way to chip away at this deal. There no 20- point shots out there. We needed to get locked in and play better defense.

“Our guys kept their composure, kept fighting, just chipped away a possession at a time, and then really played some good basketball in the second half and deserved to win.”

Williams hit 14 of 21 field goals, including 7 of 9 3-pointers. He scored 8 straight points in 11-0 run to tie the game at 47-47 with 16:16 left.

From that point on, no team led by more than 5 points. The difference for the Tigers in the final 20 minutes was they made 6 of 17 3-pointers while Wake Forest went 0 for 8.

McMahon changed his starting line, giving Mississippi State transfer Derek Fountain his first start in place of freshman Jalen Reed.

Fountain had a solid game with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Reserve guard Cam Hayes, a North Carolina State transfer, scored a much-needed 13 points since LSU starting guards Hill and Adam Miller combined for just 7 points on 3 of 16 from the field.

Miller had his worst game of the season, making 1 of 10 shots including of 1 of 6 3-pointers.

Despite the subpar guard play, despite being outrebounded 37-30 and the fact Florida transfer guard Tyrone Appleby led the Demon Deacons with 27 points, LSU found a route to victory.

The Tigers’ 14-2 run to close the first half, hitting 6 of their last shots, cut the Wake lead to a more manageable 41-34 lead at halftime.

But the second half belonged to Williams. He scored 23 of LSU’s 39 second-half points, nailing his first 3 shots after intermission including a pair of 3s.

Once he got the Tigers out of the gate quicky in the final 20 minutes, his teammates became fully engaged.

“He was fantastic,” McMahon said of Williams. “We wanted to try and stretch the space the floor to attack their ball screen coverage and use KJ out on the perimeter as a weapon. And he stepped up and delivered.

“You’re talking about a guy who has almost scored 2,000 points in college now. So, we expect big things from him and he was first class today.”

LSU returns for three straight home games before Christmas, starting with 6 p.m. battles vs. North Carolina Central on Tuesday and Winthrop next Saturday. The Tigers play their final pre-conference game vs. East Tennessee State on Dec. 21 before opening SEC play at home Dec. 28 vs. No. 8 Arkansas (9-1).