On the eve of his first Southeastern Conference game, Matt McMahon noted his team would be going against an elite defense in its matchup with No. 9 Arkansas.
Yet, unranked LSU wasn’t about to be outdone on its home floor.
McMahon’s team matched Arkansas’ intensity on the defensive end in the first half, and the Tigers held the high-scoring Razorbacks to their lowest point total of the season in taking a 24-19 lead at intermission.
But Arkansas wouldn’t go that easily and came on strong in the second half before LSU pulled ahead late for a 60-57 win in front of a boisterous crowd Wednesday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU (12-1, 1-0 SEC) allowed its second-fewest points in a first half this season, but Arkansas (11-2, 0-1 SEC) had other ideas and pulled ahead in the first 4½ minutes of the second half before the Tigers rallied.
LSU hung in despite falling behind by six points, Arkansas’ largest lead of the night with 9:14 to play, and the Tigers were able to punch their way back.
Trae Hannibal had 12 points and Derek Fountain contributed 11 in the pivotal second half alone, keeping their team in it as both clubs heated up from the field after intermission.
Hannibal came off the bench to easily exceed his season-high with 19 points, while Fountain recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Hannibal, who was 9 of 14 from the field, added six rebounds and two assists. Fountain was 5 of 8 from the floor and made 4 of 5 from the free-throw line.
The Tigers iced the win when Adam Miller knocked down both ends of a one-and-one opportunity with 1.8 seconds to play.
Arkansas freshman Jordan Walsh, who had a huge second half, just missed a game-tying 3-point shot from midcourt as the final horn sounded.
Walsh, a McDonald’s All-American, scored 13 points in the second half and Davonte Davis added 12 for Arkansas, but they weren’t enough to hold off LSU’s strong second half.
Davis scored 16 total points to lead Arkansas, while Walsh and leading scorer Ricky Council had 13 each.
LSU shot 53.6% after halftime and Arkansas connected on 46.9% of its shots in an offensive display that entertained the large crowd after the defensive slugfest in the first half.
While Arkansas wasn’t bad on the defensive end in the first half when it held LSU to just 10 field goals in 34 attempts (29.4%), the Tigers were even better as the Razorbacks were 9 of 33 (27.3%).
Arkansas’ previous low in the first half was 21 points against UNC-Greensboro on Dec. 6, but the Razorbacks rallied for a 65-58 win that night.
LSU wound up shooting 40.3% for the game, while Arkansas — which was averaging 79.4 points per game — finished at 37.5% while being held 22 points below its average.
