LSU Hoops Falls To South Carolina, 78-68

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU men’s basketball team fell to South Carolina, 78-68, on Tuesday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

With the loss, LSU’s overall record drops to 12-3, while South Carolina improves to 10-5 on the season.

In the first half, the Tigers shot 8-of-28 (28.6%) from the floor and 4-of-12 (33.3%) from distance. The Gamecocks went 16-of-31 (51.6%) and a solid 10-of-13 (76.9%) from the arc. South Carolina closed the half carrying a 25-point advantage, 50-25.

In the second half, LSU pushed the tempo, ripping off a 10-2 run to force South Carolina into a timeout at the 17:34 mark. The Tigers outscored the Gamecocks 43-28, and despite the attempt to come back, the Tigers came up short. LSU made 16-of-34 (47.1%) field goals, 4 from deep and 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line. South Carolina recorded 9-of-22 shots for 40.9 percent and two deep. LSU tallied 25 rebounds to South Carolina’s 11.

Max Mackinnon led the Tigers in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-14 from the field and three treys. Pablo Tamba and PJ Carter earned 10 points.

Elijah Strong was the leading scorer for the Gamecocks, finishing with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 4 treys.

The Tigers are back on the court Saturday, Jan. 10, traveling to face the 11th-ranked Vanderbilt. The game will tip off at 12:00 p.m. CT at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee.

(Release via LSU Athletics)

Box Score