Tigers hold off ’Dogs in overtime thriller
BATON ROUGE, La. — Anthony Hickey hit a driving floater in the paint with 1.4 seconds left in overtime, lifting LSU to a 69-67 victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday night.
Ralston Turner led LSU (15-10, 4-5 SEC) with 17 points, but nearly cost the Tigers the game with a turnover that put Brian Bryant on the foul line with 11 seconds left. Bryant made only one free throw to tie it at 67, however, taking pressure off LSU as it set up the final shot.
Justin Hamilton scored 14 points for LSU, which has won two straight, while Storm Warren added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Dee Bost had 15 points and Rodney Hood 14 for the Bulldogs (19-7, 6-5), who’ve lost two straight for the first time all season, both in overtime.
Renardo Sidney added 13 points for Mississippi State, which was ranked in the AP Top 25 until losing to Georgia 70-68 in overtime on Saturday. Arnett Moultrie (Raleigh-egypt) had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs started 4 of 7 from 3point range and led by as many as 17 in the first half, but made only 2 of 11 from deep the rest of the way. Mississippi State also turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 18 LSU points. The Bulldogs outrebounded LSU 43-32 but LSU came up with some big rebounds in the clutch.
Warren’s 10th rebound on a miss by Hickey led to his ninth and 10th points on a pair of free throws that gave LSU a 65-63 lead with 1:10 left in overtime.
Hickey pushed the Tigers’ lead to four on a driving floater off the glass with 22 seconds remaining, but Sidney hit a 3 with 12.2 seconds left and then Turner overthrew Hamilton on the next inbound pass. Bryant intercepted the pass and was fouled driving to the hoop, setting up the dramatic finish.