Cam Carter was determined, dribbling down the court with his eyes on the basket as he rose to make a 3-pointer.

LSU men’s basketball’s prolific shooter gave up and stayed true to his selfless spirit by making the right decision when a defender finished well.

Carter tossed it to teammate Curtis Givens, who was ready to shoot on the right wing and fired in the three-pointer with just under five minutes left in the first half.

Proper interpretation played an important role in the team’s 78-74 win over Arkansas on Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Carter finished the season with a season-high 27 points on 7 of 15 shooting. The Kansas State transfer also made 10 of 10 free throws. Jordan Sears had 17 points. Daimion Collins finished the game with seven points, ten rebounds and four blocks.

LSU’s offense got off to a slow start, missing its first seven shots. Corey Chest got the Tigers on the scoreboard with a baseline drive for a two-handed dunk at 15:37 of the first half.

After the first field goal, LSU missed six more shots in a row. The team’s offense collected numerous offensive rebounds, five of them in the first seven minutes of the game, but was unable to capitalize on them.

Backup big man Derek Fountain kept the Tigers afloat by attacking the basket and being rewarded with free throws. He made all six free throws he attempted.

After an impressive block by Robert Miller on Arkansas’ 7-2 big man Zvonimir Ivisic, which set off a fastbreak push for a transition 3-pointer from Jordan Sears, the lid was officially off for LSU. On the ensuing offensive possession, LSU sophomore Mike Williams made a team turnaround jumper that put LSU behind 13-11 with 11:39 left in the first half.

Williams, who was not part of the regular rotation, was called in early due to the absence of Vyctorius Miller, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. The guard twisted his ankle in the first half of Saturday’s game against Ole Miss. Miller is the team’s third-leading scorer with 10.1 points per game.

The turnovers didn’t bother LSU as early as they had in previous SEC games – there were at least 10 turnovers in the first half in the last three games. The Tigers only had six turnovers in the first 20 minutes against Arkansas.

When LSU tied the game at 16, Arkansas went on a 12-0 run to take a 28-16 lead at 7:02 of the half. Arkansas backup guard Johnell Davis made two of the team’s four 3-pointers.

Not to be outdone, Carter hit LSU’s fourth and final 3-pointer of the half just before the buzzer. At halftime, LSU trailed just 36-34 after shooting 34% from the field while Arkansas shot just 44%. The Tigers were supported by an impressive free throw performance where they made all ten attempts.

Tigers coach Matt McMahon opted to play Williams and Fountain more instead of redshirt freshman Chest and true freshman Givens. While both only scored six points, their timely scores, defense and rebounding complemented the Tigers’ top players.

LSU took its first lead at 38-36 after Dji Bailey and Carter scored back-to-back points in the first 55 seconds after halftime.

After LSU took a 43-39 lead, Arkansas went on an 11-0 run. The Tigers’ defense bent but never broke. Their best rim protector, Daimion Collins, helped the team’s home fans rise with explosive blocks.

Carter’s scoring ability also shone as he scored 18 points in the second half. His best basket was a mesmerizing step-back 3-pointer that came after Pump faked out his defender before taking the shot.

LSU’s next game is Saturday at Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m.