LSU rallied from 10 down with 17 minutes to play and outscored Prairie View A&M by 24 points the rest of the way to get a wild 104-90 win over the Panthers Monday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU survived an amazing performance in the first half by Prairie View when they shot 66.7 percent from the field and made 10-of-13 three-pointers (76.9%) and led the game, 56-51, at intermission.
The Tigers set a school record for free throws in the contest that dated back to the same day of the year (Dec. 22) in 1979 by making 43-of-49 attempts. The previous mark was 41 against Tulane.
In the first half the two teams combined for 16 three-pointers as LSU made 6-of-12 of their own and LSU was at 50 percent from the field but Dontae Horne and Tai’Reon Joseph combined for six long-distance makes as they combined for 36 of Prairie View’s 56 points.
It was three-pointer and a two-pointer by Joseph that pushed Prairie View to a 63-53 advantage at the 17-minute mark. The Panthers continued to lead by nine, 71-62 on a tip-in layup by Keeshawn Mason with 14:23 to play, but it was at this point the Tigers began to turn the game.
LSU would score the next 11 points to take a 73-71 lead in the game. Marquel Sutton made two free throws and Max Mackinnon made two more free throws after a technical foul on Prairie View during the Sutton free throws.
After a Prairie View miss, a Rashad King jumper cut the margin to three, at 71-68, with 13:54 to play. The Panthers called timeout and on the ensuing possession, King blocked a PV shot and then on the other end hit a three-pointer to tie the contest at 71-71.
The Panthers turned the ball over and Sutton hit a bucket to give LSU the lead at 73-71 at the 12:42 mark. Prairie View would tie the game at 73-73 on its next possession but the Tigers would actually take the lead for good on two Jalen Reece free throws, 75-73, with 12:05 to play. The Tigers would score six straight to go up 79-73 and would not trail the rest of the game, opening the lead to as much as 16.
All nine players that saw action for the Tigers scored and six scored in double figures, led by Sutton and point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., with 21 each. Sutton had his sixth double double of the season with 11 boards (six offensive) and Thomas kept his league lead in assists, posting seven.
Mike Nwoko had 18 points, while King had 13, Mackinnon had 12 and Pablo Tamba 10.
LSU’s 49 free throw attempts tied the seventh most in a single game at LSU.
Sutton made 13-of-14 free throws, Thomas made 11-of-13 and Nwoko posted 8-of-9.
Baton Rouge native Joseph finished 11-of-20 from the field for Prairie View with five treys and a game high 34 points, while Horne finished with 24 points and five assists. Joey Madimba added 16 points.
Prairie View would shoot just 29.6 percent in the second half (8-of-27) and just 2-of-8 from distance. For the game the Panthers finished at 48.1 percent overall (26-of-54), making 12-of-21 three-pointers (57.1 percent) and a very good 26-of-28 at the free throw line (92.9 percent).
LSU for the game would make 27-of-57 from the field (47.4 percent), including seven treys and the 43 free throws. The Tigers would have a 36-22 advantage in rebounds, an 18-6 advantage in second chance points and 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers even though both teams turned it over the same amount of times (11).
LSU would lead for a combined 25:25 seconds to 12:42 for Prairie View. The game was tied five times and there were eight lead changes.
The Tigers will now take the next few days off for the Christmas break, returning on Friday evening for practice in preparation for the final non-conference game of the season on Monday, Dec. 29, at 7 p.m. against Southern Miss.
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