Atlanta, GA - Glen Davis scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the LSU Tigers to a 76-67 overtime win against the 22nd- ranked Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Terry Martin added 15 points and Magnum Rolle 10 for LSU (17-14), which has won three of its last four games and will face Mississippi on Friday.
Chris Lofton deposited 21 points for Tennessee (22-10), who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Duke Crews added 11 points and Ramar Smith donated 10 for the Volunteers, who had defeated the Tigers 70-67 in Knoxville earlier in the season.
Leading by one in overtime, LSU went down low to Davis, who completed a three- point play that put the Tigers ahead 71-67 with 1:55 left to play. After Wayne Chism's missed three-point attempt Martin scored on a layup that pushed the lead to 73-67 with just 52 seconds remaining.
Davis made three free-throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Lofton scored the first seven points of the game as Tennessee jumped out to an early lead. LSU responded with a 9-0 run, capped by a Rolle jumper that moved the Tigers ahead, 9-7, with 12:51 left in the first half.
After a Davis three-point play with 5:09 remaining before the break gave LSU a 22-18 advantage, Duke Crews hit a layup which sparked a 7-0 spurt and a three- point Tennessee cushion, 25-22, with 2:31 to go.
The Volunteers held a 27-25 edge at the intermission.
Much like the first half the second began with a couple of streaks. After a Chism free throw, the Tigers embarked on a 8-0 surge, capped by two Darnell Lazare foul shots that gave LSU back the lead, 33-28, early in the second half.
Moments later back-to-back threes by Ryan Childress and Smith capped a 9-0 Volunteer surge which again gave Tennessee the edge, 37-33.
This trend continued throughout the second half as the lead continued to consistently change hands.
Tennessee seemed to take control when a Lofton trey put the Volunteers up 57-52 with 4:43 on the clock, but LSU answered with a 10-0 run, capped by two Davis free-throws and the Tigers held a short-lived five-point lead with 1:15 remaining.
Lofton's tip-in with 12 ticks remaining in regulation capped a 7-2 Vols run and tied the score at 64 apiece. After an offensive foul on Garrett Temple gave Tennessee the ball back, Volunteer guard JaJuan Smith missed a desperation three-point attempt at the buzzer and the contest went into overtime.
Game Notes
LSU shot 53 percent while Tennessee shot just 34 percent from the field...LSU had 23 turnovers to Tennessee's 13...Tennessee's bench outscored LSU's 34-10...LSU had eight blocks...Tennessee had 14 steals, LSU had 7...With 15 rebounds, Davis now totals 909 in his career. He joins Shaquille O'Neal as the only players in LSU history with 1,500 points, 900 rebounds and 100 blocked shots...Lofton hit three triples, becoming the third player in SEC history to reach 300 in a career.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes
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