BATON ROUGE, La. — Trendon Watford made a three-point play and Charles Manning blocked two field goal attempts in the final seconds as LSU defeated Arkansas 79-77 in a Southeastern Conference game Wednesday night.
The lead changed hands eight times in the final six minutes. Watford put the Tigers (10-4, 2-0) ahead 76-74 with a three-point play with 32 seconds remaining in the game. The Razorbacks (12-2, 1-1) regained the lead on a three-point play by Isaiah Joe with 21 seconds to play.
LSU kept possession after Skylar Mays had his shot blocked out of bounds by Adrio Bailey with 12 seconds left. Watford then made his second three-point play with eight seconds to play. Arkansas had two shots at a game-winning 3-pointer, but Manning blocked both – one by Joe and one by Desi Sills.
Watford led LSU with a season-high 21 points. Mays had 19 points, while Darius Days had 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Javonte Smart had ten points.
Mason Jones, who fouled out in the final minute, was the top scorer for the Razorbacks with 24 points. Jimmy Whitt had 22 points and Joe scored 13 – all in the second half.
Neither team had more than a four-point lead until Arkansas put together a 12-0 run late in the first half. Jones and Bailey combined for all 12 Razorbacks points. A 3-pointer by Jones put Arkansas ahead 35-24 with 4:06 before halftime.
LSU responded with its own spurt down the stretch of the first half. Days knocked down two 3-pointers to help the Tigers reduce their double-digit deficit. A foul shot by Days with 22 seconds remaining left LSU behind the Razorbacks 40-37 at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
LSU: The Tigers won their first close game of the season as they had dropped three games by two points in the non-conference portion of the schedule to VCU, Utah State and Southern California.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks suffered their first defeat of the season in regulation. Arkansas’ other defeat came in overtime at Western Kentucky.
UP NEXT
LSU will play another home SEC game when it faces Mississippi State on Saturday.
Arkansas will play a second straight SEC road game when it meets Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday.
EARLIER
LSU 79, Arkansas 77 - FINAL
Isaiah Joe and Desi Sills had potential game-winning 3-point attempts blocked in the closing seconds and the Razorbacks drop their first SEC game.
Mason Jones scored a game-high 24 points and Jimmy Whitt added 22.
Trendon Watford scored 21 points to lead LSU and Skyler Mays pitched in 19. LSU won the rebounding battle 53-24 and scored 26 second-chance points to Arkansas' zero.
We'll have more from tonight's game a little later on WholeHogSports.com.
LSU 79, Arkansas 77 - 8 seconds left
Isaiah Joe hit a layup moving left, got fouled and hit the free throw, giving Arkansas a lead. LSU then answered with an and-1 of its own. Tigers lead and call for time.
LSU 76, Arkansas 74 - 32 seconds left
Trendon Watford and-1 for LSU, and Mason Jones fouls out. Razorbacks will look to get something good offensively out of a timeout. Let's see what Eric Musselman comes up with.
Arkansas 74, LSU 73 - 35.6 seconds left
Jimmy Whitt hit a midrange jumper from the free throw line. Arkansas leads. Need a stop.
LSU 73, Arkansas 72 - 1:01 left
Arkansas forces an LSU shot clock violation. Razorbacks have a chance to take the lead in the final minute.
LSU 73, Arkansas 72 - 1:10 left
Skyler Mays, after attacking the rim off the bounce, grabbed LSU's 22nd offensive rebound of the night and added a layup to give the Tigers a lead.
Isaiah Joe then had a 3-point attempt blocked from the top of the key by Emmitt Williams.
Arkansas 72, LSU 71 - 2:43 left
Better buckle up for the final two-plus minutes. Neither of these teams will go down without a fight.
LSU forward Trendon Watford's legs may be a bit tired. He just stuffed a dunk attempt into the front of the rim. Arkansas, though, couldn't make the Tigers pay on the offensive end. Mason Jones turned the ball over.
Despite a 49-22 rebounding deficit, Arkansas has a great chance to win this game. I think it's going to come down to which team can defend without fouling. Both teams are in the double bonus and will shoot free throws with each whistle.
Jones has 24 points and Jimmy Whitt has 20. Skyler Mays has a team-high 16 for LSU.
LSU 64, Arkansas 60 - 7:44 left
Isaiah Joe missed the free throw following the last media timeout, failing to give Arkansas a lead.
LSU is on a 6-2 run since that point and has a chance to extend its lead when play resumes. The Tigers continue to have great success when, as Jimmy Dykes is saying, punching the ball into the paint and attacking Arkansas guards off the dribble.
LSU has 21 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds.
Arkansas is 1 of its last 10 from the floor and hasn't scored in more than two minutes.
Arkansas 58, LSU 58 - 11:17 left
Just when it looked like this was slipping away from Arkansas, the Razorbacks' five-guard lineup has created a little havoc defensively and tied this thing up.
The group has forced three LSU turnovers in the last couple of minutes and finally turned one into points when Isaiah Joe got a layup to go plus the foul. He'll be at the line with a chance to give Arkansas a lead when play resumes.
Mason Jones, he's been fantastic again. He has a game-high 22 points on 7 of 11 from the floor. Jalen Harris has been good defensively in the last couple of possessions. He is a team-high plus-9 tonight.
LSU 51, Arkansas 44 - 15:36 left
The Tigers are pouring it on a little bit. LSU is on an 8-0 run over 1:39 and has taken control of this game.
Arkansas is out of sorts defensively, allowing dribble drives into the lane, and from there the Tigers have dominated. LSU has six rebounds since halftime and five are offensive.
Arkansas, meanwhile, is 1 of 3 from the floor with two turnovers since the break. Isaiah Joe has been a complete nonfactor. I'm sure whatever the Tigers are doing to Joe will be recreated by future opponents. It has been Mason Jones, Jimmy Whitt or nothing for the most part on the offensive end.
LSU 47, Arkansas 44 - 17:08 left
LSU is abusing Arkansas on the glass and turning those extra possessions into second-chance points. The Tigers have 15 offensive rebounds, which have turned into 17 points.
Darius Days has been an animal on the glass. He has 13 rebounds, eight offensive. His last board, off a missed free throw, led to Skyler Mays' second 3 of the night from the top of the key. Mays has a team-high 15 points.
Jimmy Whitt has a bucket for Arkansas since halftime, a midrange jumper from the right side of the floor, and Mason Jones hit a pair at the line.
Could be a bit of a danger time for the Razorbacks. The offense needs a stabilizing score and a couple of stops.
Isaiah Joe still has not scored.
Arkansas 40, LSU 37 - Halftime
The Razorbacks led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but enter the locker room up just three thanks to some defensive breakdowns and mental mistakes.
Darius Days, a 28 percent 3-point shooter entering this game, knocked down two triples late and chipped into Arkansas' lead. The Tigers closed the half on a 9-1 run.
Reggie Chaney also had a really silly moment late. After he was whistled for a foul on the interior off an LSU miss, he essentially punched the basketball into the crowd, drawing a technical foul. I don't expect to see him again tonight. He seems to be really in his own head lately.
Mason Jones has a game-high 15 points on 5 of 9 from the floor to go with four rebounds. Jimmy Whitt also has 12 points on 6 of 8 from the floor and 5 of 7 on midrange jumpers. Adrio Bailey has eight points as well.
Arkansas committed just three turnovers in the first half, two in the final 4:05.
A good overall half from Arkansas. The Razorbacks, though, need to tighten up a bit on the defensive end in the second half. Isaiah Joe did not score in the first half either. If he gets going, it could mean good things and another big, big road win.
Arkansas 35, LSU 24 - 4:05 left first half
The Razorbacks have turned it on a bit. Arkansas is on a 12-1 run thanks to solid defense - seven straight empty possessions for the Tigers - and great shotmaking.
Mason Jones just buried a deep 3 from the top of the key, forcing an LSU timeout. He has 12 points and is continuing his great play of late.
Adrio Bailey also has eight points, his most in a game against LSU, and three rebounds.
Arkansas has committed just one turnover in the opening 15-plus minutes.
LSU 24, Arkansas 23 - 7:23 left first half
Eric Musselman has to be fuming at the Razorbacks' defensive effort and intensity tonight. LSU is getting essentially whatever it wants off the dribble, in transition, and is hitting the glass hard. Arkansas has also committed six fouls to the Tigers's one.
Jimmy Whitt is the game's leading scorer with 10 points on 5 of 6 from the floor and 4 of 5 on midrange jumpers. Mason Jones also has five points. Isaiah Joe picked up his second foul moments ago and heads to the bench with zero points on 0 of 2 from the field.
Skyler Mays leads LSU with eight points and Trendon Watford has six. Tigers are winning the rebounding battle 14-7 and are plus-6 in second-chance points.
Arkansas 17, LSU 17 - 11:37 left first half
Both offenses scoring at a pretty good clip tonight. Arkansas has been really solid on the offensive end and has gotten lifts from Jalen Harris and Adrio Bailey.
Harris, off an LSU turnover, went coast to coast and threw down a dunk. Bailey, not known as a perimeter threat by any means, knocked down a 3 from the left wing. He is 5 of 11 from 3 this season and has hit 3 of his last 4. That's pretty remarkable.
Jimmy Whitt also hit his second midrange jumper of the game from the middle of the floor.
Trendon Watford has a team-high six points for LSU. Skyler Mays has three.
Arkansas 10, LSU 9 - 15:24 left first half
Mason Jones is off to a solid start tonight. He opened the game with a 3 from the right wing off the bounce. That is something of a rarity for him. He's been tremendous from deep moving left entering this game. Jones also had an assist on a Jimmy Whitt layup.
Whitt, too, is playing well early on. He has the layup and a midrange jumper from the middle of the floor. Desi Sills has Arkansas' other bucket, a 3 from the left wing.
LSU is winning the rebounding battle 7-2 to this point. Darius Days already has four. Trendon Watford and Skyler Mays each have three points to lead the Tigers. LSU will be at the line when play resumes.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Desi Sills, Jimmy Whitt and Adrio Bailey.
Bailey, a senior forward and Louisiana native, is in the lineup tonight after banging knees with Texas A&M forward Josh Nebo in Arkansas' win over the Aggies on Saturday. Eric Musselman said Tuesday he thought Bailey would be good to go for this game. He averages 3.5 points and two rebounds in six career games against the Tigers. He will be vital tonight, particularly on the defensive end.
Jones has been on a roll since the Razorbacks' loss at Western Kentucky on Dec. 7. In the four games since, he has scored in double figures in each game and is shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range. He scored 22 points in the teams' meeting in Fayetteville last season, and 10, including the game-winner with less than 30 seconds to play, at LSU in February.
This group's on-floor stats for the season: 1.01 PPP offensively, 12.3 percent turnover rate, 35.4 percent from 3; .83 PPP allowed, 22.2 percent opponent turnover rate, 44.3 percent 2-point field goal defense.
LSU's starters: Javonte Smart (6-4), Skyler Mays (6-4), Trendon Watford (6-9), Darius Days (6-6) and Emmitt Williams (6-6).
The Tigers are big and athletic across the front line, and Mays and Smart are two of the best guards in the SEC. Smart scored a game-high 21 points in LSU's conference-opening win at Tennessee last Saturday while Mays chipped in 17. They shot a combined 7 of 11 from distance.
The big test, again, for Arkansas tonight is interior defense. LSU ranks second in the country in 2-point field goal percentage at 58.3. It has not shot the ball well from the perimeter this season, but it has players more than capable of getting hot beyond the arc. In terms of efficiency, the Tigers (113.2 points per 100 possessions) are far and away the best offensive team Arkansas has faced this season.
Williams is shooting 66 percent inside the arc, and Days is sitting at a ridiculous 74.6 percent on 63 attempts. LSU has grabbed more than one-third of its misses this season. Bailey, Reggie Chaney and Arkansas' guards need to at least hold their own on the glass.
Running updates by Scottie Bordelon of WholeHogSports.com