Carter scores 27 to lead LSU in home win over Arkansas, 78-74

BATON ROUGE – A pair of lengthy second-half runs and a season-high 27 points by Cam Carter propelled LSU to a 78-74 victory over Arkansas Tuesday night at the Maravich Center to earn its first Southeastern Conference victory in 2025.

LSU pieced together a 14-3 run between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to gain its first lead and a 20-3 run to create space late in the second half to secure the victory.

In snapping its three-game losing streak, LSU picked up its third consecutive win at home in the series against Arkansas and improved to 22-13 when playing the Razorbacks at the PMAC. The Tigers are now 10-1 in home games this season.  

LSU improves to 12-5 on the season and 1-3 in league play, and Arkansas falls to 11-6 and 0-4 in the SEC this season. The Tigers hit the road for two of the final three games of the month, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Saturday at Texas A&M inside Reed Arena.

Carter scored 18 points in the second half alone and was 7-of-15 shooting overall, including three 3-point field goals and a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line. Jordan Sears scored 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting, 3-of-8 from deep and 4-of-4 at the stripe. Sears also led the team with three assists and had two steals. Daimion Collins had a career-high 10 rebounds and matched a career-best four blocks, including a game-ending block. Collins netted seven points.

Mike Williams III played a season-high 17 minutes off the bench, scoring eight points (2-of-2), including one triple, was 3-of-4 at the free throw line, and tallied two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Arkansas had five players finish with double-digit scoring, led by Boogie Fland’s 19 points and five assists. 

LSU shot 40.0 percent from the floor (22-of-55), knocked down eight triples and was an impressive 26-of-28 at the free throw line (92.9%). LSU shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the second half. Arkansas shot 39.1 percent from the floor (27-of-69) and 45.0 percent from 3-point range (9-of-20). The Tigers outrebounded Arkansas 39-37 .

After trailing 36-34 in the opening 20 minutes, LSU opened the second half on a 9-3 run to build a 43-39 lead. Dji Bailey scored the first points of the half, and Carter followed with a layup that gave LSU its first lead at 38-36. Carter’s second triple of the night gave LSU the four-point margin to conclude a 14-3 scoring run between the two halves before Arkansas scored 11 points in a row to regain control with a 50-43 advantage.

Williams III stopped the run with a free throw, and hit a corner three to spark a 15-2 run, giving LSU a 58-52 lead with the game clock reading 9:09. LSU led 58-54 at the under eight-minute media timeout and scored six of the following seven points, including a highlight reel 3-pointer by Carter to push LSU’s lead to 64-55, encouraging a 30-second timeout by Arkansas with 5:57 left to play.

Fland tried to re-establish Arkansas’ momentum by scoring 10 consecutive points, including two 3-pointers that helped get the Razorbacks within three points at 68-65, but a Sears’ layup, a defensive stop, and Carter’s pull-up jumper at the left elbow gave LSU a seven-point lead with 2:34 on the clock.

A late 3-pointer and two free throws from Arkansas made it a one-possession game with 28 seconds left, but LSU finished 6-of-6 down the stretch at the charity stripe, and a defensive possession that ended with a block by Collins secured the 78-74 victory for the Tigers.  

It was a slow start for LSU, shooting 1-of-13 to start the game, spotting Arkansas an 11-4 lead. Although the Tigers went over three minutes without a field goal, a few free throws capped by a 3-pointer from Jordan Sears cut the Razorbacks lead to 11-9 just before the under 12-minute media timeout.

Arkansas reeled off a 15-3 run highlighted by 12 unanswered points to go ahead 26-16, but LSU responded with a 7-0 run ignited by a couple of buckets from Carter and a triple from Curtis Givens III to pull within five points at 28-23 with 4:47 remaining in the half.

Arkansas led 30-23 at the final media timeout, but LSU closed the half outscoring the visiting team 11-6, punctuated by a three-ball by Carter to go into the half down 36-34. The Razorbacks held the edge in field goal percentage (43.8% – 34.5%). However, LSU was 10-of-10 at the free throw line and outrebounded Arkansas 21-17, including a 7-5 margin on the offensive glass in the opening 20 minutes. 

*LSU press release

Post-game quotes
LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon

Opening Statement…
I was really proud of our players fight, toughness, and response tonight. I thought we really competed on the defensive end of the floor. The two-point defense was just terrific for us. I think we held them to 18-49 from there, around 36%. Blocked 11 shots. I love some of those confrontations we that were able to win at the rim. And then offensively, Cam was terrific. 27 points, did it on only 15 shots. I thought our spacing was a lot better- led to some better driving opportunities and good decision making from our guards. All in all, a great team win. Looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow and getting ready for the weekend.”

On the offensive execution…
“I think it came down to the spacing. I thought we screened a lot better to create some advantages for our players. We were concerned coming in. Arkansas is a top-5 shot blocking team in America. But the free throw line ended up being huge for us. We’ve shot it at a high percentage to start league play, we just haven’t gotten there enough. And to get there tonight 28 times at 93% is just fantastic for our team.”

LSU Guard Cam Carter
On Daimion Collins…
“Man, Daim is a baller. Especially going through what he’s going through with his body. That dude is a baller. He’s tough mentally and physically. He’s a dog. He’s from Atlanta, Texas. I’m so glad to have him on our team.”

LSU Guard Jordan Sears
On the difference between tonight and the first three SEC games…
“I would say our spacing. We had much better spacing this game. It allowed us to read the floor. The floor opened for us. We got into a couple of ball screens. We were able to reject a couple and make kick out passes. So, that stretched the defense out for us and we were able to attack the basket.”
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Arkansas Head Coach John Calipari

Opening Statement
“I’ll just comment on today, they out-scrapped us, beat us to some balls, made some big-time plays. I’ve got to do a better job with my team. We got up 12 again. This is the third or fourth game. We get up 12 and all of a sudden, you turn around, and it’s, you know. So, I thought we were prepared for that moment, but we just had a couple turnovers, missed shots, and I’ll watch the tape, but they out-scrapped us. I mean, you know, we did some half-decent stuff … We were trying to just face the court and get something, and (Guard) Boogie (Fland) got it going. So, we just let him keep going. So, he got us back there. We did not want to foul 5 (LSU Guard Cam Carter) or 1 (Jordan Sears), but to be honest, they were all making free throws … I guess it really didn’t matter, but we were going to hard trap, and then we put Billy (Richmond III) off the ball. We did whatever we had to do to get it close, so we’d have one chance to win the game. You know, a turnover flagrant, that was critical, but it happens. I thought we played with more joy than we have. I know I coach that way, but I just like I said, I have got to do a better job. And I told them after the game, I’m not cracking, so let’s just keep going. Let’s get ready for the next one. We got a day off tomorrow and two days in Missouri on the road.”

On what LSU did to make scoring difficult for Arkansas in the second half …
“They were switching some, that kept people in front and again, I thought there were some opportunities for us to get somebody else a shot. But if you looked at my team, those were the right three (Fland, Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner) who were shooting the ball. I wish we’d have got the ball to Jonas (Aidoo) more. And we had talked about it. We went in huddles, if they’re open in there, throw it. But they were, they were getting around the post. And I told them, you got to keep them behind you. But you know, they fought. Both teams fought. We have got to finish off the game at some point. And again, they were 9-for-20 from the three-point line. We were eight-for-22, but a bunch of those were at the end.”