BPBlueSox
12-22-2002, 01:36 AM
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- For much of the game it looked as if Louisiana State would win big over No. 1 Arizona.
In the end the Tigers were delighted to hang on for a one-point victory.
LSU, which led by 15 points in the second half, held off a furious rally by Arizona for a 66-65 victory Saturday night.
''We were a different team the last five to six minutes than we were earlier in the game,'' Arizona coach Lute Olson said.
Jaime Lloreda had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead LSU to a victory over a No. 1 team for just the second time in the program's history.
The Tigers beat No. 1 Kentucky 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 11, 1978. The Tigers were also unranked during that game, which was played in Baton rouge as well.
''This game puts us back on the map,'' said LSU forward Ronald Dupree, who was nearly the game's goat after calling for a timeout the Tigers didn't have. ''It was time for us to win a big one and get this town excited about something.''
LSU's defense frustrated the Wildcats for much of the game and controlled the tempo until the final minutes. The Tigers held Arizona to a season-low 33 percent from the field, including 18 percent (4-for-22) from 3-point range.
''It would have helped if we didn't miss all the triples we shot,'' Olson said. ''We had a lot of easy shots that we didn't put away. Some of that had to do with the challenge of those shots by LSU underneath.''
LSU (7-1), which had won four consecutive games by 20 or more points, had a 15-point lead over the Wildcats (5-1) in the second half and were up six with about a minute to play. But Arizona had a chance to win with two possessions in the final seconds.
''We won this game by rebounding and guarding,'' LSU coach John Brady said. ''I kept telling my team that they were going to make a run at us at some point and they did, but the toughness in the defensive effort of our team was really good.''
It was the second consecutive defeat for Arizona to LSU as the Tigers beat the then-fifth-ranked Wildcats 86-60 in 2000.
''LSU was much more patient,'' Olson said. ''Their defense made us very impatient. I don't know how you can play 34 minutes without a sense of urgency and then six minutes with one. We have to learn to play that way the whole game.''
After a basket by LSU's Antonio Hudson, Channing Frye made one free throw to get Arizona to 66-61 down. Dupree rebounded Frye's second attempt, but was falling out of bounds and tried to call a timeout. LSU was out of timeouts, and Salim Stoudamire made both of the free throws on the technical foul to make it 66-63.
The Tigers turned the ball over and Andre Iguodala scored, pulling Arizona to 66-65 with 36 seconds left.
A pass from Torris Bright then was picked off by Frye. Jason Gardner drove and lost the ball out of bounds with half a second left. Bright tipped the inbounds pass to preserve the victory for the Tigers, sending the fans onto the floor to celebrate.
''It was just instinct,'' Bright said. ''I knew they didn't have time to run a play and he'd probably go to the basket, so I was ready for him.''
Hudson had 20 points for LSU, while Dupree added 12. Bright had seven points and seven assists.
Gardner led Arizona with 16 points, while Rick Anderson, Hassan Adams and Frye each scored 11. Iguodla had 11 rebounds.
''We rushed some shots, we forced some shots, some shots were there but we couldn't knock them down,'' Gardner said.
LSU opened the second half with a 6-0 run to take a 38-26 lead. When Lloreda made two free throws with 15:14 left in the game, LSU had a 42-28 lead.
Arizona had only four free throws in the second half before Adams made a basket with 12:05 left to pull the Wildcats to 42-32.
LSU led 49-34 with 9:20 left, but the Wildcats got to 53-50 with 5:06 left.
Bright made two foul shots then Lloreda took a pass from Bright and was fouled making the layup. His free throw put the Tigers up 58-51 with 4:03 left.
A layup by Stoudamire with 1:58 left pulled the Wildcats to 64-60.
The Tigers, after struggling against the bigger Wildcats, started cold from the field but made 10 of 14 shots over the final 12 minutes of the half. LSU led by as many as eight points in the final minute and was up 32-26 at halftime.
Arizona shot just 34 percent (11-for-32) from the field in the first half, and was 3-for-10 from 3-point range. The Tigers shot 54 percent from the field (13-for-24).
In the end the Tigers were delighted to hang on for a one-point victory.
LSU, which led by 15 points in the second half, held off a furious rally by Arizona for a 66-65 victory Saturday night.
''We were a different team the last five to six minutes than we were earlier in the game,'' Arizona coach Lute Olson said.
Jaime Lloreda had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead LSU to a victory over a No. 1 team for just the second time in the program's history.
The Tigers beat No. 1 Kentucky 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 11, 1978. The Tigers were also unranked during that game, which was played in Baton rouge as well.
''This game puts us back on the map,'' said LSU forward Ronald Dupree, who was nearly the game's goat after calling for a timeout the Tigers didn't have. ''It was time for us to win a big one and get this town excited about something.''
LSU's defense frustrated the Wildcats for much of the game and controlled the tempo until the final minutes. The Tigers held Arizona to a season-low 33 percent from the field, including 18 percent (4-for-22) from 3-point range.
''It would have helped if we didn't miss all the triples we shot,'' Olson said. ''We had a lot of easy shots that we didn't put away. Some of that had to do with the challenge of those shots by LSU underneath.''
LSU (7-1), which had won four consecutive games by 20 or more points, had a 15-point lead over the Wildcats (5-1) in the second half and were up six with about a minute to play. But Arizona had a chance to win with two possessions in the final seconds.
''We won this game by rebounding and guarding,'' LSU coach John Brady said. ''I kept telling my team that they were going to make a run at us at some point and they did, but the toughness in the defensive effort of our team was really good.''
It was the second consecutive defeat for Arizona to LSU as the Tigers beat the then-fifth-ranked Wildcats 86-60 in 2000.
''LSU was much more patient,'' Olson said. ''Their defense made us very impatient. I don't know how you can play 34 minutes without a sense of urgency and then six minutes with one. We have to learn to play that way the whole game.''
After a basket by LSU's Antonio Hudson, Channing Frye made one free throw to get Arizona to 66-61 down. Dupree rebounded Frye's second attempt, but was falling out of bounds and tried to call a timeout. LSU was out of timeouts, and Salim Stoudamire made both of the free throws on the technical foul to make it 66-63.
The Tigers turned the ball over and Andre Iguodala scored, pulling Arizona to 66-65 with 36 seconds left.
A pass from Torris Bright then was picked off by Frye. Jason Gardner drove and lost the ball out of bounds with half a second left. Bright tipped the inbounds pass to preserve the victory for the Tigers, sending the fans onto the floor to celebrate.
''It was just instinct,'' Bright said. ''I knew they didn't have time to run a play and he'd probably go to the basket, so I was ready for him.''
Hudson had 20 points for LSU, while Dupree added 12. Bright had seven points and seven assists.
Gardner led Arizona with 16 points, while Rick Anderson, Hassan Adams and Frye each scored 11. Iguodla had 11 rebounds.
''We rushed some shots, we forced some shots, some shots were there but we couldn't knock them down,'' Gardner said.
LSU opened the second half with a 6-0 run to take a 38-26 lead. When Lloreda made two free throws with 15:14 left in the game, LSU had a 42-28 lead.
Arizona had only four free throws in the second half before Adams made a basket with 12:05 left to pull the Wildcats to 42-32.
LSU led 49-34 with 9:20 left, but the Wildcats got to 53-50 with 5:06 left.
Bright made two foul shots then Lloreda took a pass from Bright and was fouled making the layup. His free throw put the Tigers up 58-51 with 4:03 left.
A layup by Stoudamire with 1:58 left pulled the Wildcats to 64-60.
The Tigers, after struggling against the bigger Wildcats, started cold from the field but made 10 of 14 shots over the final 12 minutes of the half. LSU led by as many as eight points in the final minute and was up 32-26 at halftime.
Arizona shot just 34 percent (11-for-32) from the field in the first half, and was 3-for-10 from 3-point range. The Tigers shot 54 percent from the field (13-for-24).