National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisiana State 55, Rutgers 50
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 3, 2011
Where: Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey
Officials: # John Cahill, # Ed Corbett, # Michael Stephens
Attendance: 5534

Freshman Anthony Hickey scored four of his seven points in the final two minutes - including the go-ahead layup with 40 seconds left - as visiting LSU rallied for a 55-50 victory over Rutgers in the Big East/SEC Challenge on Saturday.

Andre Stringer scored 13 points and freshman Johnny O’Bryant added 11 for LSU (5-3), which overcame 18 turnovers and handed Rutgers its first home loss by closing on a 12-2 run.

Hickey was only 3-of-11 from the floor, but was clutch when it counted. The 5-foot-10 point guard hit a running floater that put the Tigers up 51-50 with 40 seconds to play and O’Bryant added a breakaway dunk to make it 53-50 with 12 seconds left.

The Scarlet Knights (4-4) had a chance to tie it, but freshman Eli Carter lost control of the ball before he could attempt a game-tying 3-pointer.

The matchup between a pair of young, rebuilding teams featured seven ties and 11 lead changes. The Tigers went on their decisive run after Rutgers’ big man Gilvydas Biruta (eight points) fouled out with 4:49 to play.

Hickey’s jumper in the lane gave LSU a 49-48 lead with 1:40 left before Austin Johnson’s free throws put the Scarlet Knights back in front.

Carter led Rutgers with 10 points.

Both teams had more turnovers than field goals in an ugly first half. Rutgers eventually pulled away with a 17-4 run and led 28-23 at intermission.

LSU shot only 29 percent in the first half (8-of-28) and turned the ball over 12 times. Meanwhile, Rutgers shot 40 percent (9-of-22) and had 10 turnovers.
Top Game Performances
 
Louisiana State   Rutgers
Andre Stringer 13 Scoring Eli Carter 10
Anthony Hickey 5 Assists Myles Mack 4
Johnny O'Bryant III 6 Rebounds Austin Johnson 6
Justin Hamilton 3 Free Throws Made Austin Johnson 7
Malcolm White 2 Steals Mike Poole 5
Justin Hamilton 3 Blocks Dane Miller 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Louisiana State 55 36.4 3-17 12-18 13 28 7 6 18
Rutgers 50 33.3 2-11 18-24 9 30 2 16 17