LSU Edges Out Tide
3/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. ?? Marcus Thornton's 27 points included a 3-point shot that broke a tie with 36 seconds left as LSU beat Alabama 80-74 on Wednesday.
Alabama (15-15, 4-11 SEC) remained in a last-place tie with Auburn in the Southeastern Conference West Division race. Both teams close out he regular season Saturday.
The score was tied at 74 before Thornton's shot. He then made one foul shot and Chris Johnson, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, made two more to complete the scoring.
Anthony Randolph led the Tigers (13-16, 6-9 SEC) with a career-high 29 points.
Richard Hendrix had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Crimson Tide (15-15, 4-11). Demetrius Jemison added 14 points, Senario Hillman 12 and Alonzo Gee 10.
There were seven ties and six lead changes in the first half, which ended with Alabama ahead 44-37.
The Tigers made six straight free throws to cut the Crimson Tide's advantage to 48-47. Alabama led later by seven and by five points, with LSU pulling back within one point each time.
A basket by Randolph with 4:47 left gave LSU its first lead ?? 70-68 ?? since midway through the first half. The teams then exchanged the lead on four straight possessions. A driving layup by Thornton put LSU up 74-73 with 1:58 remaining.
Alabama tied the score at 74-74 when Hendrix made one of two free throws with 55 seconds left.
