LSU Plays Well In Spots, But Falls To Highly Regarded Pittsburgh, 74-63

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU led Pittsburgh at the half, fell behind by 12, came back, and drew within striking distance in the late going, but in the end fell, 74-63, at the Greenbrier Tip-Off Classic in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia on Friday afternoon.

Freshman guard Vyctorius Miller scored 12 of his 14 points off the bench in the second half to bring the Tigers (4-1) back from a 40-28 deficit early in the second half to within four. Miller hit a 3-pointer, was fouled, and hit the free throw to cut the Panthers’ lead to 56-52 with 6:03 to play.

Senior transfer guard Dji Bailey drove in for a layup to get the Tigers within 58-54 with 5:41 left, but they would get no closer.

NCAA TOURNAMENT VIBE FOR LSU-PITTSBURGH

Senior transfer guard Cam Carter of LSU committed a critical technical foul away from the ball as he jawed at an official or Pittsburgh player with 5:02 left. Pittsburgh point guard Jaland Lowe hit both technical free throws for a 64-55 lead, and it was over. Lowe led all scorers with 22 points and added eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. The Panthers (6-0) are not ranked, but received nine votes for the Associated Press top 25 poll this week.

LSU coach Matt McMahon grimaced and shook his head as Carter tried to explain what happened on the technical. Carter had an off game from the floor, missing 9 of 12 shots and all five from 3-point range, finishing with 11 points – nine below his average. Junior forward Jalen Reed scored 14 with seven rebounds for the Tigers.

After LSU led 28-27 at the half, Pittsburgh outscored the Tigers 13-0 to start the second half for a 40-28 lead as LSU went 0-for-12 from the field until Carter finally hit a lay-up with 13:09 to go to cut the lead to 40-30.

LSU will play at 2 p.m. Sunday on the CBS Sports Network against the loser of Friday’s second tournament game between Central Florida (4-0) and No. 19 Wisconsin (5-0). Pittsburgh will play at 4:30 p.m. Sunday against the Central Florida-Wisconsin winner.

LSU and Pittsburgh had not played since Jan. 31, 1969, at the John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum on campus, aka the “Cow Palace.” LSU won 120-79 as junior guard Pete Maravich scored 40 points on 13-of-34 shooting from the field and 14 of 18 from the free throw line.