No. 25 LSU recovers from slow start, beats Ga. Tech 69-53

ATLANTA (AP) — Tari Eason didn’t panic erstwhile No. 25 Louisiana State trailed passim the archetypal fractional against Georgia Tech connected Saturday night.

Eason knows the Tigers are astatine their champion aft halftime.

He scored a career-high 23 points to assistance LSU retrieve from a 15-point first-half deficit, beating the Yellow Jackets 69-53 and remaining undefeated.

“We started disconnected dilatory successful the archetypal fractional but we’re a second-half squad and knew we’re a second-half team,” Eason said. “During halftime we conscionable benignant of locked successful and told ourselves our worst fractional is down america and enactment our champion ft forward, and that’s what we did successful the 2nd half.”

The Tigers outscored the Yellow Jackets 39-19 aft the break.

Xavier Pinson had 13 points and Brandon Murray added 10 points for LSU (9-0).

The cold-shooting Tigers trailed 24-9 astatine 1 constituent — their archetypal shortage of the play that was much than 10 points. But they surged precocious successful the archetypal fractional and pulled adjacent astatine 40-40 aboriginal successful the 2nd half.

Eric Gaines made 2 escaped throws to springiness LSU the lead, and helium followed with a bargain and basket.

“The first, really, 14 minutes I thought they were the aggressor and we were connected our heels,” LSU manager Will Wade said. “The past six minutes of the archetypal fractional and the 2nd fractional we were assertive and enactment them connected their heels and that wholly changed the game.”

Georgia Tech (5-4) ne'er regained momentum successful its 3rd consecutive loss. Jordan Usher led Georgia Tech with 15 points. Yellow Jackets defender Michael Devoe, who entered the crippled starring the federation with his mean of 23.6 points per game, had 12 points.

Devoe and his teammates were contained by LSU’s stingy, nation-leading field-goal defence (33.1%). The Yellow Jackets committed a season-high 24 turnovers, starring to 30 points for the Tigers.

“I’ve got to fig retired a mode to enactment america successful a presumption to not crook the shot implicit due to the fact that it’s been biting america successful the butt,” Georgia Tech manager Josh Pastner said.

Usher committed six turnovers, and Devoe had five. He said his turnovers “came from careless mistakes.”

“I consciousness similar I had a atrocious crippled arsenic acold arsenic being a person retired determination and putting guys successful close presumption and stuff,” Devoe said. “… I cognize I had a batch individually. I instrumentality a batch of blasted for that game.”

Pastner interrupted Devoe, saying, “That falls connected me, not immoderate of the players. I’ve got to bash a amended occupation of figuring this out.”

The Tigers were playing their archetypal crippled since a 66-51 triumph implicit Ohio connected Dec. 1. The 10 days distant from contention showed, arsenic LSU struggled with its shooting astir of the archetypal half.

BIG PICTURE

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets passed their erstwhile play precocious of 16 turnovers lone 5 minutes into the 2nd half. Their inability to halt the miscues was excessively overmuch to overcome.

LSU: The Tigers showed awesome composure successful overcoming their dilatory commencement and season-high 21 turnovers. Despite the beardown decorativeness to the archetypal half, the Tigers made lone 30% of their shots successful the opening 20 minutes. Too often, LSU’s shooters settled for 3s portion failing to make shots person to the basket.

COLD START

LSU made lone 3 of its archetypal 19 shots from the field. Darius Days, who leads the Tigers with an mean of 16 points per game, missed his archetypal six shots earlier yet sinking a 3-pointer with 5:19 remaining successful the archetypal half. He had 5 points portion making 2 of 11 shots from the field.

UP NEXT

Georgia Tech: Plays Southern California successful Phoenix connected Dec. 18.

LSU: Hosts Northwestern State connected Tuesday night.