Three days after one of its most disappointing losses of the season and playing without one of its best players, LSU recorded one of its biggest wins Saturday.
Keith Hornsby hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tigers an 81-78 victory over No. 18 Arkansas. The road win gave LSU a needed boost for its NCAA tournament resume after a home loss to Tennessee on Wednesday.
"We knew coming into the day, coming into this type of environment and atmosphere that we were going to have to play every second, every play against a great basketball team, one of the top 16 teams in the country," LSU coach Johnny Jones said. "We knew it was going to take a great effort and that's exactly what it took for us today, playing every second of every play and it ended with Hornsby hitting a huge shot for us."
The Tigers (22-9, 11-7 Southeastern Conference) hit 3-pointers on their final two possessions to erase a 3-point deficit. Jalyn Patterson's 3-pointer with 57.8 seconds remaining tied the game 78-78.
After starring on offense, LSU forward Jarell Martin set up the game-winner with his defense. Martin blocked Arkansas forward Alandise Harris on a drive with 22.9 seconds remaining to give the Tigers the ball.
Jones took a timeout to set up the last play. Josh Gray penetrated and kicked the ball to Hornsby, who made the game-winner from the corner over the outstretched arms of Arkansas defender Michael Qualls.
"You know, I was just waiting for the right opportunity," Hornsby said. "I know Josh, played with him enough to kind of read how he plays and when he likes to pass. I locked eyes with him and I floated at the right moment and he delivered the perfect pass that allowed me to get into my shot naturally and I just hit it."
Martin scored 27 points while playing all 40 minutes for LSU. He continually got near the basket, often making off-balance shots to answer Arkansas runs.
"That's an ironman performance right there," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "He played the whole game and played well."
Patterson added 20 points for the Tigers. LSU was playing without its second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, Jordan Mickey, who injured his shoulder in the Tennessee game.
LSU led by 12 points in the first half and 41-35 at halftime. But Arkansas chipped away at the lead the entire second half before taking a one-point lead on two free throws by Harris with 3:32 remaining.
Harris made six free throws in the closing minutes and Anthlon Bell added a 3-pointer to help the Razorbacks extend their lead to three points. Harris, who scored 10 points in his final home game, didn't practice with the team Friday and didn't return to Fayetteville until after midnight Saturday after attending a family funeral.
"You can imagine his emotion and you could see it in the first half, it wasn't the same Alandise Harris," Anderson said. "I was proud of him in the second half when he started to settle down and got to the free throw line and made plays for us."
The Tigers made 9 of 21 attempts from 3-point range, including six by Patterson. LSU added 18 points off 12 Arkansas turnovers.
Bobby Portis scored 21 points and had a career-high 15 rebounds for the Razorbacks (24-7, 13-5). Qualls added 15 points.
Arkansas, which finished second in the SEC standings, has lost two of three games entering next week's conference tournament.
"I still don't believe we've played our best basketball for a full game," Anderson said.
TIP-INS
LSU: The Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak in games played at Bud Walton Arena. The Tigers hadn't won in Fayetteville since 2009.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks finished one win shy of tying the program record for SEC wins in a season. Arkansas won 14 SEC games during its NCAA championship season in 1994 while playing two fewer conference games.
UP NEXT:
LSU: As the fourth seed in the SEC tournament, the Tigers will either play Texas A&M, Mississippi State or Auburn on Friday in Nashville, Tenn.
Arkansas: Will play Friday as the No. 2 seed against either Vanderbilt or Tennessee.
