BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas coach Mike Anderson couldn't help but rave about his team's poise, even though the Razorbacks had blown an 18-point lead during the final 13 minutes.
Mason Jones hit a driving floater with 22 seconds left and Arkansas beat No. 19 LSU 90-89 on Saturday night to hand the Tigers their first conference loss this season and first home loss in more than a year.
"We were able to steal one today," Anderson said. "Our guys remained poised and did not panic."
Daniel Gafford scored 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 18 points for the Razorbacks (13-8, 4-4 SEC), who trailed three times in the last 3:39, but responded with points each time to halt LSU's streaks of 18 straight victories at home and 10 overall.
Joe hit two free throws with 3:27 to go and Gafford scored his final points in the paint with 3:01 left — each basket putting Arkansas up by a point before Jones reached 10 points on the game's final basket.
Jones said surviving LSU's late onslaught took "some guts."
"They just tested us," Jones said. "We wanted to see if we were learning. We learned tonight."
Naz Reid had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Javonte Smart scored 18 for LSU (17-4, 7-1), which was trying to start 8-0 in the league for the first time since 1981 — and very nearly did.
Gafford became the third Razorback to foul out with 2:01 to go and Smart hit two free throws to put LSU in front 89-88.
But neither team scored again until Jones used a head fake to drive past LSU guard Tremont Waters — shortly after Waters had turned the ball over on a risky alley-oop lob intended for Marlon Taylor as Taylor cut along the baseline.
"Very disappointed we couldn't pull it out," LSU coach Will Wade said, adding that his team had been "cruising for a while" and could only expect to get away with it for so long.
"When you walk a tight rope — we've been walking a tight rope for about two weeks — you're eventually going to fall off," Wade said.
The Tigers had three shots on their last possession. Smart rebounded Reid's missed layup, but missed a pull-up jumper. Reid corralled the next rebound while moving away from the basket and his off-balance 3 fell short as time ran out.
"We need to play hard from the jump and not wait until the end of the game or when we are down," Reid lamented.
Arkansas players and coaches stormed off the bench and embraced one another as time ran out. Several players glared triumphantly toward the nearby LSU student section, from where they had been showered relentlessly with taunts as their once large lead slipped away.
Arkansas took its largest lead, at 66-48, when Reggie Chaney's dunk with 13:45 left capped a 10-0 run that also included five points from Adrio Bailey on two free throws and a 3. But a packed crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center responded shortly after by roaring to urge LSU on. The Tigers chipped away and took their first lead since early in the first half on Smart's off-balance finger roll with 3:39 left.
PERIMETER PUNISHMENT
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson tied a career high with 16 points for Arkansas, hitting four of his team's 13 3-pointers. Joe also hit four 3s, giving him 73 this season. Arkansas shot 54.2 percent from 3-point range (13 of 24) and hit a number of timely mid-range jumpers, as well while shooting 58.3 percent overall (35 of 60).
Jalen Harris scored 11 points before fouling out with 4:22 to go, shortly after his 3 gave the Hogs an 84-79 lead.
"We were due," Anderson said. "We finally shot the ball well, especially with guys coming off the bench and giving us energy."
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: Good shooting was narrowly enough to overcome LSU's 25-point advantage from the foul line and 44-20 advantage in rebounds. The Razorbacks have won three of four, providing hope for a strong finish to the regular season.
LSU: The Tigers, who won at Arkansas in overtime earlier this season, nearly came back by using their athleticism and imposing their will inside. They lost the game by losing track of Arkansas' best perimeter shooters and because of their own struggles from 3-point range, where they shot 20.8 percent (5 of 24). They also turned the ball over a season-high 21 times. Skyler Mays scored 17 for LSU and Waters finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Kavell Bigby-Williams scored 10 points.
UP NEXT
Arkansas hosts Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
LSU visits Mississippi State on Wednesday.
EARLIER
Arkansas 90, LSU 89 - Final
LSU's 10-game win streak is no more.
Mason Jones hit a runner in the lane with less than 30 seconds to play and the Tigers missed three shots in the closing seconds to seal the Arkansas win. The Razorbacks have now won three straight in SEC play since opening 1-4.
Daniel Gafford finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in the win, Isaiah Joe added 18 and Keyshawn Embery-Simpson pitched in 16 points, matching a career-high.
Naz Reid led LSU with 19 points and Ja'vonte Smart added 18 off the bench.
We will have more from tonight's game a little bit later on WholeHogSports.com.
LSU 89, Arkansas 88 - 1:06 left
Daniel Gafford fouled out with two minutes to play. He finished with 23 points and eight rebounds. Ja'vonte Smart hit a pair of free throws to give LSU the lead after Gafford sat down.
Arkansas has possession out of the timeout. It is without Harris and Gafford late, who both fouled out. Harris fouled out with four-plus minutes to go. Gabe Osabuohien, who finished with three points and five assists, fouled out with 7:33 to play.
Arkansas 84, LSU 83 - 3:50 left
Naz Reid just threw down LSU's 10th dunk of the game to cut the Razorbacks' lead to just one point prior to the final media timeout. Reid has 19 points, 12 in the second half. Skylar Mays also has 11 since the break.
Gafford looked like he was smacked in the face by Reid just before the timeout. Reid was charged with a foul, and Arkansas has possession. Gafford has 21 points on 10/13 from the floor.
Arkansas 81, LSU 77 - 5:30 left
You knew LSU was going to make a run before too long, and that run is here. Five Tigers are now in double figures and Naz Reid and Skylar Mays each have 17. LSU has nine dunks tonight.
Arkansas is shooting 65 percent in the second half, but has to put some stops together if it wants to win this one. As offensively charged this game has been, it's going to come down to a stop or two.
Arkansas 77, LSU 66 - 7:51 left
Isaiah Joe hit a 3-pointer between the media timeouts and Embery-Simpson added his fourth 3 of the night, too. He has tied a career-high with 16 points. Joe, though, has been the story of the second half. He has 11 since the break.
Daniel Gafford now has 21 points on 10/11 shooting. Naz Reid has a team-high 14 for LSU.
Arkansas 69, LSU 55 - 11:11 left
Arkansas led by as many as 18 points with 13:45 to play, but LSU battled back to within 11 and had the students and fans back into it. Then Isaiah Joe buried a big 3 to quiet the crowd and put the Razorbacks up 14 at the under-12 media timeout.
Gabe Osabuohien just took his third charge of the game. His latest one took us to the media timeout and drew Marlon Taylor's fourth foul of the night. The Razorbacks have been able to maintain their lead with Daniel Gafford on the bench. Reggie Chaney, Adrio Bailey and Gabe Osabuohien have played very well tonight collectively.
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and Desi Sills were both injured in a short span prior to the timeout. Embery-Simpson injured his shoulder saving a ball from going out of bounds, and Sills landed hard on his hip after contesting Skylar Mays' dunk in transition.
Arkansas 59, LSU 48 - 15:12 left
The Razorbacks opened the second half as hot as they did the start of tonight's game, knocking down 6/8 shots after the break. Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones each have 3-pointers, Daniel Gafford added two more buckets and Jalen Harris got a midrange jumper to go.
LSU began the second half 3/7 from the floor with five turnovers. Arkansas is shooting 66 percent for the game, but they may have to play the next few minutes without Gafford, who picked up his third foul a minute ago. Adrio Bailey will be at the line when play resumes.
Arkansas 45, LSU 41 - Halftime
Daniel Gafford scored a game-high 15 points in the first half on 7/8 from the floor and Keyshawn Embery-Simpson added 13 on 5/6 from the floor and 3/3 from deep. Those two were phenomenal in the first half. Arkansas shot 19/30, 6/11 from 3-point range and averaged a sizzling 1.216 points per possession.
Somewhat quietly, Gabe Osabuohien recorded a career-high five assists. He assisted on three of Arkansas' final four buckets of the first half. Jalen Harris pitched in six points and three dimes, too.
LSU was the symbol for balance in the first half. Six players have at least four points and Kavell Bigby-Williams leads the Tigers with nine points while Tremont Waters has eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Tigers abused the rim in the first half. Seven of their 13 buckets before halftime were dunks. Waters turned the ball over three times, and LSU coughed it up eight times as a team. Arkansas scored 10 points off Tigers turnovers.
Arkansas 34, LSU 30 - 4:16 left first half
Gafford and Embery-Simpson are both in double figures now after back-to-back scores. Embery-Simpson slipped behind the LSU defense for a layup off a nice backdoor cut. Gafford, on an entry feed from Embery-Simpson, finished at the rim and now has 11 points. Tigers haven't had an answer for Gafford yet. He's 5/6 from the floor.
Arkansas 30, LSU 24 - 6:53 left first half
Arkansas continues to shoot it well from deep tonight. Embery-Simpson added another 3, Gafford got a tough bucket in the lane to fall, plus the foul, and Jalen Harris knocked down a jumper. Razorbacks are 12/21 from the floor early on, and 5/10 from distance.
Gafford, following the and-1, has a game-high nine points on 4/4 shooting to go with three boards and a block. Outside of Embery-Simpson and Gafford, who each have nine, Harris has four points and a pair of assists.
Arkansas 20, LSU 11 - 11:46 left first half
I wrote a couple of days ago about the impact Keyshawn Embery-Simpson could make for this offense once he began to consistently knock shots down. He scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers in his first two minutes of action tonight as part of a 13-0 Arkansas run.
Gabe Osabuohien, the first forward off the Razorbacks' bench, also knocked down a 3, making his 3/4 from deep in the last three games. Daniel Gafford has six points and three rebounds as well. He's been involved in the offense and very active so far.
Terrific start for the Razorbacks on the road. Couldn't have asked for much more.
LSU 11, Arkansas 7 - 15:25 left first half
The Razorbacks opened the game playing well offensively, using Daniel Gafford in a pair of pick-and-rolls, which led to two buckets. Jalen Harris used a Gafford ballscreen to dribble into a pull-up jumper at the elbow, then Isaiah Joe hit Gafford on the roll for the second score.
LSU then scored the next eight points to take an 8-4 lead. Mason Jones halted the run with a corner 3, then LSU forward Naz Reid, who was 4/4 from 3-point range in the Tigers' win in Fayetteville last month, knocked down his first triple of the game. Reid has seven of LSU's 11 points so far.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jalen Harris, Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Adrio Bailey and Daniel Gafford.
According to Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, who is in Baton Rouge for today's game, freshman guard Isaiah Joe is back to himself and should be 100 percent. He'd been battling a "bug" over the last two games, per Mike Anderson.
LSU's starters: Tremont Waters, Skylar Mays, Marlon Taylor, Kavell Bigby-Williams and Naz Reid.
The Tigers did not play well on Wednesday in College Station, but Tremont Waters more than made up for an off night from essentially every other Tigers player. He scored 36 points on 11/18 from the floor and 6/8 from deep. Waters has recorded a double-double in his last two games against Arkansas, including a 27-point, 11-assist outing in Baton Rouge last season.
Live updates by Scottie Bordelon