LSU honored the 1979 SEC Championship team inside the PMAC today by bringing back the throwbacks Stars and Stripes jersey against Tennessee. However, a dominant performance from Josiah-Jordan James led the Volunteers to a massive road win over the Tigers 77-56.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU and Tennessee started with the fireworks early, as the Tigers opened the scoring with a KJ Williams basket. But after two straight threes from Tennessee, LSU kept them close and only trailed 8-7 at the first media timeout with 15:57 remaining in the first half. Josiah-Jordan James from Tennessee led all scorers with five.
LSU sputtered offensively for the next stretch, being held scoreless for the previous 6:32 of the game and the Vols went on a 7-0 run to lead 13-7 with 11:31 remaining in the first half.
The Tigers continued their sloppy play, settling for the outside shot even when it wasn’t falling. However, for the final minute leading up to the third media timeout, two strong possessions put LSU right back into the game at 16-13 with 7:54 remaining.
As the first half winded down, LSU found themselves in a nine-point hole at 29-20 with 2:56 remaining in the half. The Tigers shot just 37% from the field up to this point with eight turnovers.
Over the final stretch of the first half, Tennessee went on a 12-2 run to take a 39-22 lead into the locker room. Josiah-Jordan James led all scorers in the contest with 10.
After an early Tennessee three, KJ Williams answered with five straight points to give the Tigers some life. After that, both teams traded baskets to lead to a 46-30 Vols lead at the first media timeout of the second half with 15:51 remaining.
Tennessee took the game over down the stretch, going on a 15-4 run over the next four minutes to take a 61-34 lead with 11:38 remaining in the contest. LSU struggled to answer Tennessee’s offense all game. Josiah-Jordan James continued to lead all scorers with 18.
LSU went on a 12-4 run of their own to cut the lead to 65-46 with 7:31 remaining in the game. For the Tigers, KJ Williams leads the team with 11 points. The Tigers shot 67% from the field for the first 12 minutes of the second half.
Tennessee went on a 6-0 run to hit the final media timeout with 3:33 remaining holding a 75-50 lead over the Tigers. LSU strung together a couple of buckets down the stretch but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers dropped their sixth straight, falling 77-56 to the Volunteers.
BIG NUMBER: 19
LSU committed 19 turnovers in the contest, while Tennessee only had six for the game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Josiah-Jordan James
James had 22 points on 9-16 shooting including 4-6 from deep. He also added seven rebounds to lead Tennessee to an impressive win.
UP NEXT: LSU will head up to Fayetteville, Arkansas Tuesday to take on the Razorbacks looking to snap the losing spell. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. and you can hear it right here on The Game.