Louisville Hangs Stubborn LSU Out to Dry at the Line

Louisiana State had yet to shoot 50% from the floor this season and Louisville was averaging 52%. The Tigers were outrebounding opponents by three a game, the Cardinals by six.

So it was a little hard for LSU Coach Dale Brown to look at the box score after a 93-87 overtime loss to Louisville in the second game of Saturday’s John R. Wooden Classic before 8,463 at the Pond of Anaheim.

LSU shot 46% from the field and the Cardinals managed only 42%. The Tigers won the battle of the boards by 14 and they made nine more field goals.

Then there were those ugly little numbers under the headings of free throws and attempts: The Cardinals made 30 of 36, the Tigers seven of 14.

“You look at these stats and we should’ve won,” Brown said.

The fact is, however, that LSU (3-4) was very lucky to make it to overtime. With his team trailing by 11 points early in the second half, Brown switched to a 2-3 zone defense that confused unbeaten Louisville and allowed the Tigers to creep back into the game.

DeJuan Wheat, who led the Cardinals with 26 points, missed two free throws with 32 seconds remaining and then the Tigers’ rebounding advantage paid off in the waning seconds of regulation. Terrance Simmons missed a three-point shot, but LSU came up with a scrambling rebound. Then Rogers Washington missed a three-point attempt but managed to tip the ball back to Simmons, who finally made a three-point shot with eight seconds left to send the game into overtime at 76-76.

Washington, who scored all 11 of LSU’s points in overtime, tied the tournament record of 33 points, matching Massachusetts’ Lou Roe, who had 33 against Kansas in 1994. “We did a pretty good job on everyone else, but Washington just took us apart,” Louisville Coach Denny Crum said.

Wheat--the most valuable player of the Big Island Invitational tournament--and then super-sub B.J. Flynn--who scored 21 points, a career high--each made three-point shots to put the Cardinals ahead, 84-78, with 1:54 remaining in overtime.

The Cardinals made nine of 12 free throws the rest of the way to improve their record to 4-0.

“We knew coming in this was going to be a tough time,” said Crum, who needs nine more victories to reach the 600 mark. “They’re much bigger than us and they have some great athletes. There were times when we had one guy who was 6-7 and the rest were 6-3 or smaller.

“We haven’t seen a lot of zone yet and it caused us some problems, but B.J. and DeJuan hit enough shots from the perimeter, including some real clutch ones, to keep them honest. And when they fouled us, we made the free throws.”

Flynn, who has made 11 of 16 three-point shots this season, made 10 of 11 free throws Saturday. He also gave the Cardinals a big lift on defense, mixing it up with players six inches taller underneath the basket.

Washington may have been the extent of the LSU offense in overtime, but the Tigers had three other players in double figures. Guard Gene Nabors made four of 10 three-point shots and scored 14 points. Center Duane Spencer had 13 points and six rebounds and forward Nick Sheppard had 11 points and eight rebounds.

“You have to give LSU a lot of credit,” Wheat said. “They extended their zone all the way out to the three-point line. We had that 11-point lead in the second half and I think they spent a lot of energy fighting all the way back.”