Late surge falls short for LSU

Vols survive Tigers, 59-54, behind big night from Chism

Two veterans of the SEC - UT’s Wayne Chism and LSU’s Tasmin Mitchell - were matched up most of the night Thursday. (Photo by Ben Love)

By BEN LOVE
Tiger Rag Acting Editor

Down 26-16 at halftime, LSU played the second half against Tennessee like a team with nothing to lose.

Walk-ons like Chris Beattie and Daron Populist bombed away from three-point range with the confidence of upperclassmen. Bo Spencer twice drove the lane on multiple defenders and tossed up shots behind his head with his back to the basket.

As a group, they had the look of a team that’d had enough of losing. Entering the game at 0-for-7 in conference play, Trent Johnson’s men certainly were out of contention for any type of postseason bid. And, if anything, that contributed to how loose the Tigers played in a frenzied attempt to comeback on Tennessee.

The Vols did their own part in leaving the backdoor open, however.

Bruce Pearl’s team shot only 40 percent from the floor and less than 28 percent from deep on the night. They were especially icy during the game’s final five minutes as they watched a 53-43 lead with 5:25 left evaporate. By the 0:17-minute mark, three Tasmin Mitchell free throws had cut the lead to one (55-54).

It all went south from there for the purple and gold. The Vols’ Bobby Maze connected on two free throws before a 25-foot three-point shot from Mitchell clanked iron on the other end. Two more charity stripe conversions from UT’s Scotty Hopson provided the final margin.

And although No. 14 Tennessee had kept it close with poor shooting, the Bayou Bengals’ percentages were even worse.

As a team, LSU shot 30.5 percent from the field and was 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

Spencer canned four of those threes, with Populist netting the other during a crucial point late in the game.

Populist proved to be a pleasant surprise for the Tigers and played a lot of second-half minutes at the point, eating into Chris Bass’ usual spot in the rotation.

As for Tennessee’s star of the night, look no further than F Wayne Chism. The senior was a monster, scoring 20 points on an efficient night from the field (9-for-15), grabbing seven boards and erasing two Tiger shots on the defensive end.

No other Vol scored in double digits.

Spencer’s game-high 25 points led the way for LSU, and Mitchell submitted another double-double effort (13 points and 17 rebounds, including six offensive boards). The rest of the team combined for 16 points.

LSU’s next game is at home versus No. 3 Kentucky. The contest will be played Saturday at 3 p.m., and former Tiger great Rudy Macklin will have his jersey retired at halftime.