LSU's three-point barrage fuels 81-67 win over South Carolina
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Tigers racked up its third SEC victory and second consecutive win by securing its largest margin of victory over an SEC opponent, an 81-67 drumming over South Carolina. The Tigers knocked down 13 3-point field goals in the win, a season-high in SEC games.
LSU is now 14-12 on the season and 3-10 in the SEC, while South Carolina falls to 10-16 and is still looking for its first win in conference plays, standing at 0-13. The Tigers continue their home stand with a 5 p.m. CT game on Feb. 22 against No. 2 Florida.
The Tigers have made double-digit 3-point field goals for the eighth time this season and finished the game shooting 50.0 from the field (31-62), including a 43.3 clip from behind the arc (13-30), both of which are season-highs in conference games. LSU forced 18 turnovers, matched a season-best 12 steals and converted them into 23 points.
Cam Carter led LSU with 17 points (7-14) and knocked down three triples. Carter also had four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Mike Williams III dropped a season-high 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting, 3-of-4 from deep and 2-of-2 at the free throw line. Vyctorius Miller (12) and Dji Bailey (11) rounded out the top scorers for LSU, and Daimion Collins had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Jamarii Thomas scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting for South Carolina, and Collin Murray-Boyles finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
After South Carolina scored the opening bucket, LSU scored 10 of the next 12 points and held a 14-11 lead at the under 12-minute media timeout. The Tigers continued to shoot the ball well during the ensuing four-minute stretch as they rattled off a 15-4 run, including a 10-0 burst where the home team shot 6-of-6 from the floor to build a 31-18 margin.
Carter went on a personal 7-2 run to give LSU its largest lead of the half at 38-22 and went into intermission with a 14-point 41-27 lead. In the first 20 minutes, LSU shot 57.1 percent from the field (16-28), including six triples (6-13). The Tigers’ defense was stout in the opening half, forcing nine turnovers, including six steals, and had five blocks led by Corey Chest’s three swats.
An early 7-0 by South Carolina cut LSU’s lead to single digits, but Curtis Givens III knocked down a 3-pointer, and Bailey hit a mid-range bucket to push the lead back to 48-34. The Gamecocks trimmed the lead to single digits again behind an 8-3 run, but the Tigers halted their momentum due to an 8-0 run sparked by two 3-pointers by Carter, making the score 59-42 with 11:23 on the clock.
Top 10
- 1New
Bracketology update
No. 1 seeds change in update
- 2Trending
Stolen cars
Carson Beck, Hanna Cavinder cars stolen
- 3
Texas football
Longhorns cancel spring game
- 4
CFP seeding
SEC, Big Ten make hopes clear
- 5
Clipboard smash
Auburn mocks Nate Oats over clipboard fury
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
The Bayou Bengals went on to lead by as many as 21 points at 69-48 behind an 18-5 run before South Carolina’s final push, an 11-4 run, made the score 73-59. However, LSU responded by scoring eight of the following 10 points to get the lead back to 20 at 81-61 with 3:19 remaining in the game. LSU emptied its bench for the remainder of the game and won 81-67.
LSU postgame quotes
LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon
Opening Statement…
“You know, great win for our team. This was the back end of a Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, so we’ve been on the go here since a week ago, Monday. I thought our guys’ preparation was really good. I loved their ability to execute the defensive plan of attack in the first half. I thought we were really active. Forcing those 18 turnovers was a big key in the game. And then offensively, I just thought we played the right way. Really unselfish, the floor was spaced, good execution. I thought we did a really good job screening. 19 assists, 10 turnovers is obviously a huge step in the right direction for us. As we all know, we’ve struggled to shoot the three on the season. We made 11 on Saturday and now come back tonight and make 13. Proud of our players for staying the course, getting better here, and look forward to them have a day off (Wednesday) before we start preparation for Florida on Saturday.”
On why the team is responding well and having faith in the program…
“I think it’s hard. I think it’s really challenging. We lost I think it’s six or seven in a row there. Obviously, one was just a brutal, devastating loss. So it really tests you- not just as a basketball player, but as a man. I think the credit goes to our players. They’ve come to practice, every game, I think we’ve competed every game except one half. We needed something to go our way. That happened on Saturday with the unbelievable finish there, led by Cam’s 7-0 run there in the twenty-seconds to finish the game. And then I thought tonight, just playing the right way and sharing the ball. I do think the four-guard lineup has really been a positive impact for us. It’s spaced the floor better. If you go over the last five games, our turnovers are way down. That has to continue for us. And our shot quality has improved. We won the turnover margin tonight. So, I think just getting better and as hard as it is, just stay the course and find ways to improve as a team. I think Cam deserves a lot of credit for that. He’s played incredibly well these last two games.”
LSU Guard Cam Carter
On the team’s confidence level…
“Playing in the last game against Oklahoma, we knew we could win in this league. There have been a lot of learning experiences leading into the past two games, and I think we’re figuring it out now.”
LSU Guard Mike Williams
On what to take into Florida …
“When we put forty minutes together, I don’t think anybody can beat us. Only putting one-half together has been our biggest thing this year. These last two games we’ve put two halves together, and we’ve been rewarded. I think we can do that again Saturday along with execution, and we should be fine.”
—
South Carolina Head Coach Lamont Paris
Opening Statement…
“I thought that was our first game, especially in the first half, that we just didn’t have as much juice for whatever the reason. This is really the only game, which is a little surprising because we’ve had so many tough losses. We just didn’t have juice or spirit as a group; some guys did, but a handful did not, and it affected us. Especially on the defensive end, where we gave up 41 points in the first half. You can’t give up points in the 80’s, it’s just hard to win on the road especially if you’re going to give up points in the 80’s.”
