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The Tigers led by eight at halftime, but squandered yet another lead in the second half, losing to Texas A&M 67-64.. The team took the lead four minutes into the game, and did not lose it until 22 seconds left in the game. The Aggies kept the game close, going on three different 6-0 runs, but The Tigers had plenty of chances to finish.
Jordan Mickey had a big game again for The Tigers, with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jalyn Patterson also had a good game with 13 points, but the team went flat in the second half. After taking a 58-47 lead with a little over nine minutes to go, it looked like The Tigers gave up on shooting. The Aggies went on a 7-0 run, and cut the lead to four. With four minutes to go LSU was holding on to a one point lead. Danuel House gave The Aggies the lead on a jumper with half a minute to go. House stripped the ball from Josh Gray on the next possession, was fouled, and sunk both three throws. The Tigers had one last chance to tie it, but Keith Hornsby had a three point attempt hit the rim. LSU only managed 2 points in the last 4:26 of the game.
The Aggies had never before won a game in the PMAC.Texas A&M was also previously 0-3 on the road this season. There are not too many excuses to be made for The Tigers. The Aggies will likely finish below .500 in league play this season, and yet LSU could not finish the game. The PMAC was loud and excited, fans were encouraged by victories against Georgia and Ole Miss. Gaining (and keeping) momentum had been a struggle for The Tigers in recent seasons. The struggle this season has been finishing games. LSU had a .391 shooting percentage, and only managed 7-23 three-pointers. You cannot win games by only scoring 24 points in the second half.
This is exactly what The Tigers did not need before going on the road against Florida and Vanderbilt next week. Hopefully the team can bounce back with a couple of solid road victories, but that may be too optimistic at this point. The next game will be played Tuesday night in Gainseville at 6 pm, and televised on ESPN.