Hogs Can’t Stop LSU at Home

40 minutes and Daniel Gafford’s new career high wasn’t enough to separate the Hogs and LSU in regulation. The two went to overtime and LSU won 94-88.

Daniel Gafford, Reggie Chaney, and Mason Jones had the hot start offensively and all finished in double figures. After getting four shots in the last game, Gafford asserted himself and finished with 32 on 14/19 shooting. Chaney finished with 12 and Jones had 22. Unfortunately for the Hogs, they couldn’t get Isaiah Joe going and it looks like he’s in a complete bonafide slump.

The defense took a little time to get settled to start. The Tigers started 6/6 from the field and Naz Reid and Tremont Waters were firing on all cylinders. Then the defense settled in, forcing LSU to miss six straight shots, and the Hogs got back into the game with a personal 6-0 run from Chaney.

Outside of that the defense wasn’t there in the first half. LSU ended the half shooting 60 percent and putting 50 on the scoreboard. Gafford had an excellent half, finishing with 16 points on 8/12 shooting. Chaney and Mason Jones each had 10 at the break as well. The rest of the team had just six points on 3/12 shooting.

The second half didn’t start with much change, and the Tigers hit five of their first six shots in the second half to take a double digit lead. After that, the Hogs finally got some stops, and Gafford continued to take over. He led the Hogs on offense despite his four fouls. The Hogs pulled things back with an 8-0 run and his free throws made it 73-71 with just over 5 minutes to go. Then his dunk in the final minute forced OT.

The Hogs now are 1-2 in conference play and the schedule isn’t getting any easier. at Tennessee, at Ole Miss, vs. Missouri, and at Texas Tech is going to be a rough stretch for the Hogs and they’ll be incredibly fortunate to come out of that with more than one win.