Davis LSU Hold Off Second-Half Arkansas Rally 71-67
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -Glen Davis scored 19 points, including a key three-point play in the final minute, as LSU ended a six-game losing streak with a 71-67 victory over Arkansas on Saturday.
Tasmin Mitchell scored with 2:06 left as the Tigers (14-10, 3-7 Southeastern Conference) recovered from a blown 10-point lead to tie the score.
Soon after, Davis gave LSU the lead for good by rebounding a missed shot by Terry Martin, then rebounding two of his own misses before finally scoring against the 7-foot Steven Hill while being fouled. Davis’ foul shot put LSU up 66-63 with 42 seconds remaining.
Arkansas (15-9, 4-6) cut the Tigers’ lead to 69-67 on a field goal by Charles Thomas with eight seconds remaining. Martin clinched the victory by making two free throws two seconds later.
Mitchell scored 16 points and Martin contributed 13. Davis also had 18 rebounds, ten on the offensive end.
Patrick Beverly led the Razorbacks with 17 points, while Gary Ervin had 16 and Thomas 11.
Trailing by 10 midway through the second half, Arkansas reduced its deficit to 59-57 after a 3-pointer by Weems with 4:10 to play. Thomas scored seven points as the Razorbacks outscored LSU 15-7.
A pair of 3-pointers by Ervin put Arkansas ahead 63-61 with 2:28 remaining. Mitchell then tied the score with a driving layup on the Tigers’ next possession to set up Davis’ late heroics.
LSU jumped out to a 21-12 lead as Martin sank three 3-pointers.
LSU then went nearly seven minutes without scoring, however. The Razorbacks scored 11 points during that span to take their first lead at 23-22. Two foul shots by Beverly put Arkansas ahead.
The game remained close in the final three minutes before halftime. A field goal by Martin after a missed shot by Davis with five seconds left gave the Tigers a 28-27 halftime lead.
LSU increased its one-point advantage at the outset of the second half on a basket by Mitchell and a three-point play by Davis. Slightly past the halfway point of the second half, the Tigers opened up a 52-42 lead after a field goal by Davis.
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