The Arkansas basketball team will have to wait longer for its first SEC win of the John Calipari era.
Shorthanded LSU wiped away deficits of 12 points before halftime and 7 points in the second half to defeat the Razorbacks 78-74 on Tuesday at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers (12-5, 1-3 SEC) won their first conference game while prolonging the misery of the Razorbacks (11-6, 0-4), who are scheduled to play at upstart Missouri on Saturday.
Cam Carter scored 18 of his game-high 27 points after halftime to lead an LSU team that played without two double-digit scorers. Guard Vyctorius Miller (10.1 points per game) injured his ankle in the previous game against Ole Miss, and forward Jalen Reed (11.1 points per game) was lost for the season last month with a torn ACL.
The Tigers took control with a 20-3 run in the second half. LSU went ahead 64-55 on Carter’s three with 6:05 remaining.
Arkansas guard Boogie Fland scored 10 consecutive points for the Razorbacks and cut the deficit to 68-65 with a three with 3:29 to play.
Jordan Sears and Carter responded with a 7-2 run to give the Tigers a 74-67 lead on Carter’s free throws with 1:19 remaining.
Arkansas made it interesting at the end. Two free throws by Adou Thiero with 28 seconds remaining pulled the Razorbacks within 76-74, but Sears answered with a pair of free throws with 21 seconds to play.
Thiero was blocked by Daimion Collins in the closing seconds to seal the victory for the Tigers, who won their third in a row over Arkansas at home.
Both teams started the game cold, but the Razorbacks heated up after the second media timeout. Nelly Davis hit a transition three and got a second-chance layup to cap a 12-0 run that gave Arkansas a 28-16 lead with 7:02 to play before halftime.
LSU answered with a 26-11 stretch that sandwiched halftime. Carter’s three just before the buzzer pulled the Tigers within 34-32 at halftime, and they went ahead 43-39 on Carter’s three with 17:02 to play.
Another big Arkansas run, 11-0, included 5 points by D.J. Wagner and 4 by Thiero. Fland also made a pair of free throws when Robert Miller was called for a Flagrant 1 foul.
Wagner’s driving layup with 13:38 to play put the Razorbacks ahead 50-43. That’s when Carter and Sears took over.
The backcourt duo combined for 14 points during the 20-3 run that turned the game in LSU’s favor for good. The Tigers did not trail after Collins’ dunk put LSU ahead 53-52 with 9:46 left.
Carter’s 27-point outing included a 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line. He shot 7 of 15 from the floor and 3 of 6 from three in 36 minutes.
Sears added 17 points in 28 minutes on 5 of 13 from the floor and 3 of 8 from three. No other LSU player scored in double figures.
The Tigers shot 22 of 55 (40%) from the floor and 8 of 22 (36.4%) from three. They were 26 of 28 (92.9%) from the line.
Fland led Arkansas with 19 points and 5 assists in 38 minutes. Thiero added 13 points and Jonas Aidoo 12 points, and each had 10 rebounds for their first double-doubles of conference play.
Wagner and Davis scored 10 points apiece. All of Davis’ points were scored before halftime.
Arkansas shot 27 of 69 (39.1%) from the floor and 9 of 20 (45%) from three, and was 11 of 13 (84.6%) from the line.
The Razorbacks had 11 shots blocked, including 4 by Collins and 3 by Corey Chest.
The 0-4 start is Arkansas’ worst to conference play since John Pelphrey’s second team lost its first four conference games as part of a 2-14 SEC campaign in 2008-09.
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