By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU played an excellent game throughout at No. 20 Arkansas, but could not overcome No. 1-ranked freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. on Saturday evening at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Acuff, the No. 5 overall prospect in the class of 2025 by 247sports.com from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, via Detroit, scored a career high 31 points, including 24 in the second half, to lead the Razorbacks to an 85-81 win. Acuff hit 13 of 19 shots and 4 of 7 from three-point range and could not be stopped.
LSU outrebounded Arkansas, 36-28, and dominated the Hogs (15-5, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) throughout the game inside, but the Tigers had no answer for Acuff, who also had six assists and two blocked shots.
“We threw everything but the kitchen sink at him,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “But we could not rattle him, especially over the last 10 minutes.”
Center Mike Nwoko led LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) with 17 points. His three-point play after a rebound and put-back and the free throw got the Tigers with in 77-72 with 4:33 left. Then point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who had 15 points and five assists, nailed a three-pointer with 3:47 left before a Nwoko steal and two free throws by Marquel Sutton cut Arkansas’ lead to 79-77 with 2:50 to go.
But LSU would get no closer.
“We were right there,” McMahon said.
LSU could not overcome the three-point shooting of Arkansas, which finished 10 of 22 from long range to 3 of 15 by the Tigers. Forward Pablo Tamba added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The good news is Thomas returned to his pre-injury form in his second game back after missing the first five games of the SEC season with a lower leg injury.
“I thought he looked a lot more comfortable,” McMahon said.
With Thomas back in form and with one of their better games, the Tigers appear on the verge of turning things around despite the loss because the schedule lightens up.
The Tigers return home for their next game against struggling Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) on Wednesday (6 p.m., SEC Network) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Bulldogs lost their fifth straight game Saturday, 88-56, to Vanderbilt for their fourth loss in five games by 15 points or more with three of those by 20 or more.
After that, LSU plays at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5), which lost 92-69 at Texas A&M on Saturday and has lost four of its last five. South Carolina beat LSU, 78-68, on Jan. 6 in Baton Rouge, but that was the Tigers’ second game without Thomas.
“We played better,” McMahon said.
LSU opened up its biggest lead of the game early in the second half at 45-37 on two free throws by Sutton, who scored 11 with five rebounds as the Tigers had five in double figures. Max Mackinnon added 14 points.
LSU quieted the Bud Walton crowd, but Arkansas wouldn’t go away and took its first lead since midway through the first half at 53-52 on a three-pointer by Meleek Thomas at the 12:30 mark.
LSU played very well in the first half as it led by five multiple times before taking a 37-33 advantage into the break on a pair of free throws with 30.1 seconds to go by Tamba, who had seven points and seven rebounds in the first half.
The Tigers outrebounded the Razorbacks, 21-14, in the opening half and could have led by much more, but they missed 8 of 8 shots from three-point range.
Thomas ran the offense expertly. He fed Robert Miller perfectly on a fast break for a layup and 30-25 lead at the 5:23 mark. Thomas scored only four points in the first half as he missed six of seven shots, but he had three assists, penetrated effectively and distributed the ball well as eight Tigers scored in all.
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