BATON ROUGE – Two long second-half runs and a season-high 27 points from Cam Carter gave LSU a 78-74 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night at the Maravich Center, earning its first Southeastern Conference win of 2025.

LSU went on a 14-3 run between the end of the first half and the start of the second half to take its first lead, then went on a 20-3 run late in the second half to create space and take the lead to secure victory.

LSU ended its three-game losing streak and picked up its third straight home win in the series against Arkansas. In the game against the Razorbacks in the PMAC, the record improved to 22-13. The Tigers are now 10-1 in home games this season.

LSU improves to 12-5 this season and 1-3 in the league, while Arkansas falls to 11-6 and 0-4 in the SEC this season. The Tigers headed to two of the final three games of the month, starting with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff Saturday at Texas A&M at Reed Arena.

Carter scored 18 points in the second half alone, hitting 7 of 15 shots overall, including three 3-point field goals and a perfect 10 of 10 at the free throw line. Jordan Sears scored 17 points on 5 of 13 shooting, 3 of 8 from distance and 4 of 4 at the stripe. Sears also led the team with three assists and had two steals. Daimion Collins posted a career-best 10 rebounds and made a career-best four blocks, including a game-winning block. Collins scored seven points.

Mike Williams III played a season-high 17 minutes off the bench, scored eight points (2 of 2), including a triple, was 3 of 4 at the free throw line and had two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Arkansas had five players finish in double figures, led by Boogie Fland with 19 points and five assists.

LSU shot 40.0 percent from the floor (22 of 55), knocked down eight three-pointers and went an impressive 26 of 28 at the free throw line (92.9%). LSU shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the second half. Arkansas shot 39.1 percent from the floor (27 of 69) and 45.0 percent from 3-point range (9 of 20). The Tigers outrebounded Arkansas 39-37.

After trailing 36-34 in the first 20 minutes, LSU opened the second half with a 9-3 run to build a 43-39 lead. Dji Bailey scored the first points of the half, and Carter followed with a layup that gave LSU its first lead at 38-36. Carter’s second three-pointer of the night gave LSU a four-point lead and capped a 14-3 winning run between the two halves before Arkansas scored 11 straight points to regain control with a 50-43 lead.

Williams III stopped the run with a free throw and hit a corner three to spark a 15-2 run that gave LSU a 58-52 lead with 9:09 on the clock. LSU led 58-54 at the media timeout with less than eight minutes left and scored six of the following seven points, including a highlight-reel 3-pointer from Carter that extended LSU’s lead to 64-55, resulting in a After a 30-second timeout, Arkansas led by 5:57 to play.

Fland tried to restore Arkansas’ momentum by scoring 10 consecutive points, including two 3-pointers that helped bring the Razorbacks within three points at 68-65, but a Sears layup, a defensive stop and Carter’s Pull-up jumper Left elbow gave LSU a seven-point lead with 2:34 on the clock.

A late 3-pointer and two free throws from Arkansas made it a one-possession game with 28 seconds left, but LSU finished the game 6 of 6 from the charity stripe on a defensive possession that ended with a block from Collins ended securing the Tigers’ 78-74 victory.

It was a slow start for LSU, shooting 1 of 13 early in the game to give Arkansas an 11-4 lead. Although the Tigers went more than three minutes without a field goal, a few free throws capped by a three-pointer from Jordan Sears cut the Razorbacks’ lead from less than 12 minutes to 11-9 just before the media timeout.

Arkansas went on a 15-3 run, highlighted by 12 unanswered points, to take a 26-16 lead, but LSU responded with a 7-0 run, fueled by a pair of shots from Carter and a three-pointer from Curtis Givens III was fired and got within five points, 28-23, with 4:47 remaining in the half.

Arkansas led 30-23 at the final media timeout, but LSU finished the half outscoring the visiting team 11-6, punctuated by a three-ball from Carter to take a 36-34 lead into halftime. The Razorbacks were ahead in field goal percentage (43.8% – 34.5%). However, LSU was 10 of 10 at the free throw line and outscored Arkansas 21-17, including a 7-5 advantage at the offensive glass in the first 20 minutes.

LSU vs. Arkansas men’s basketball
January 14, 2025
Post-game quotes
LSU head coach Matt McMahon

Opening speech…
I was really proud of our players’ fight, toughness and reaction tonight. I thought we really competed defensively. The two-point defense was just great for us. I think we held them to 18-49 from then on, so about 36%. 11 shots blocked. I love some of those confrontations that we were able to win on the sidelines. And Cam was great on offense too. 27 points, managed on just 15 shots. I thought our spacing was much better, which led to better driving opportunities and better decision making from our guards. All in all, a great team win. I’m looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow and getting ready for the weekend.”

For offensive execution…
“I think it came down to distance. I think we checked a lot better to give our players some advantages. We were worried when we walked in. Arkansas is one of the top five shot-blocking teams in America. But the free throw line was huge for us at the end. We tried our best to start league play, we just didn’t do enough. And to do it 28 times tonight at 93% is just fantastic for our team.”

LSU guard Cam Carter
About Daimion Collins…
“Man, Daim is a baller. Especially what he’s going through with his body. This guy is a baller. He is mentally and physically tough. He is a dog. He is from Atlanta, Texas. I’m so happy to have him on our team.”

LSU guard Jordan Sears
As for the difference between tonight and the first three SEC games…
“I would say our distance. We had a much better gap in this game. It allowed us to read the ground. The ground opened up for us. We got into a few ball screens. We were able to defend a few balls and make kick-out passes. This strengthened the defense for us and allowed us to attack the basket.”
—
Arkansas head coach John Calipari

Opening speech
“I just want to comment today: They outran us, beat us a few balls and made some great plays. I have to do a better job with my team. We got up again at 12 p.m. This is the third or fourth game. We get up at 12 o’clock and suddenly you turn around and it’s, you know. So I thought we were prepared for that moment, but we just had a few turnovers and missed shots, and I look at the tape, but they outran us. I mean, you know, we did some half-decent things…We tried to just stand on trial and get something done, and (Guard) Boogie (Fland) did it. So we just let him carry on. So he took us back there. We didn’t want to foul 5 (LSU guard Cam Carter) or 1 (Jordan Sears), but to be honest they all made free throws… I guess it didn’t really matter, but we wanted to catch hard, and then we got Billy (Richmond III) taken from the ball. We did everything we could to make it close so we had a chance to win the game. You know, a blatant turnover, that was critical, but it happens. I thought we played with more joy than before. I know I train this way, but like I said, I need to do a better job. And I told them after the game that I’m not going crazy, so let’s just keep going. Let’s get ready for the next one. We have a day off tomorrow and will be traveling in Missouri for two days.”

On what LSU did to make it difficult for Arkansas to score in the second half…
“They changed a few which kept people up front and I thought there was some opportunity for us to give someone else a chance. But if you look at my team, it was the right three (Fland, Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner) who shot the ball. I wish we had gotten the ball to Jonas (Aidoo) more often. And we had talked about it. We went together in groups, if they’re open in there, throw it. But they were, they came around the post. And I told them you have to keep them behind you. But you know, they fought. Both teams fought. At some point we have to end the game. And again, it was 9-for-20 from the three-point line. We were 8-for-22, but there were a few of them at the end.”