Tigers zap the Zips, advance to Cayman Islands Classic finals vs. K-State

LSU’s lockdown second-half defense and clutch 3-point shooting by guard Adam Miller kept the Tigers unbeaten Tuesday afternoon.

First-year head basketball coach Matt McMahon’s squad quickly flipped a 38-36 halftime deficit and took control in a 73-58 victory over Akron in the Cayman Island Classic semifinals in Georgetown Grand Cayman at John Gray Gymnasium.

The Tigers (5-0) advanced to Wednesday’s 6 p.m. CST championship game vs. Kansas State, a 96-87 overtime over Nevada in Tuesday's second semifinal.

LSU led for a majority of the second half as its defense iced Akron, limiting the Zips (2-3) to 20 percent (5 of 25) from the field.

In the second half, LSU shot 57.1 percent (16 of 28) from the field and finished 48.1 percent (25 of 42 from the field) including 47.4 percent (9 of 19 3-pointers). The Tigers went 14 of 16 from the free throw line.

Guard Adam “Ace” Miller led LSU with 23 points, hitting 9 of 15 field goals including 5 of 9 3’s. Forward KJ Williams handled the points in the paint offense with 19 points.

“I think every great team you got to have good inside-outside balance,” McMahon said. “So, we wanted to be able to pound the ball into the post to KJ. We wanted to be able to run Ace off the screens. You see he doesn't need much time or space to get that shot off. I thought I thought our guys did a great job of screening.”

McMahon also played the steady play of Tigers’ point guard Juice Hill. He had 14 points and played an almost-flawless floor game for the second consecutive day.

“I’m really excited about the progress of our team,” McMahon said. “We gave up to two two-point field goals in the second half. Just thought our (defensive effort) effort was tremendous.

“And then the guys did a great job at executing down the stretch. In a six or seven-point game, you want to stretch that lead out and close the deal. Our guys were able to make the plays to do so.”