BATON ROUGE, La. -- Coach Trent Johnson was not surprised by the challenge coach Ben Braun's Rice team presented his LSU squad on Saturday.
Both coaches went against each other a few years ago in the Pac-10 Conference -- Johnson at Stanford and Braun at California. The Tigers didnt wrap up the 65-61 victory until they made six foul shots in the final minute.
"I knew this was going to be a tough game," Johnson said. "Ben knows us. This was the first time this year other than UConn that someone really handled us on the glass. But, were finding a way to win."
Rice trailed LSU by three points with less than three minutes remaining in the game. A goaltending call on a shot by Eddie Ludwig put the Tigers ahead 57-52. After Tamir Jackson hit a jumper for the Owls, Bo Spencer made a field goal for LSU.
Ludwig hit two foul shots with 57 seconds to play to give the Tigers a 61-54 lead. After Lawrence Ghoram knocked down a 3-pointer, Spencer made two free throws with 38 seconds left. One free throw by both Chris Bass and Aaron Dotson clinched the victory.
Spencer was the top scorer for LSU (8-2) with 22 points. Tasmin Mitchell, who was double-teamed all game, still recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Storm Warren added 11 points, while Dotson had 10.
"Rice did a good job on Tas and they did a good job on Storm putting a body on him," Johnson said. "Bo played well for us today and the two freshmen (Ludwig and Dotson) played well."
Jackson led Rice (5-5) with a season-high 19 points 12 in the second half. Ghoram finished with a season-high 17 points, while Arsalan Kazemi contributed 12 points and nine rebounds. The Owls missed nine of 19 free throw attempts.
"Our team played hard and thats important especially against a Trent Johnson-coached team," Braun said. "I can appreciate that. We just didnt knock down free throws. Bo Spencer hit some key shots. He was probably the difference in the game."
LSU, which trailed by as many as seven points in the first half, ran off 14 consecutive points to take a comfortable advantage. Spencer and Mitchell accounted for all but the first and last points in the outburst.
After Warren sank a free throw to start the run, Spencer made a long two-point shot. Mitchell followed with three consecutive baskets before Spencer knocked down a 3-pointer. Warrens layup completed the spurt and put the Tigers on top 27-19.
Another 3-pointer by Spencer at the 3:12 mark gave LSU its largest first-half lead at 30-21. However, the Tigers missed three shots and committed a turnover on their final four possessions.
Field goals by Kazemi, Emerson Henderson and Jackson in the last two minutes enabled Rice to reduce its deficit to three points at halftime.
Mitchell opened the second half scoring with a field goal to push LSU in front 33-27. However, the Owls quickly responded with five points on a 3-pointer by Ghoram and two foul shots by Lucas Kuipers.
Spencer made three straight shots, the last being a 3-pointer, to give the Tigers an eight-point advantage at 40-32. Rice refused to go away as it pulled within four points at 42-38 on a field goal by Ghoram with 10:44 remaining in the game.
The Owls drew closer at 46-43 when Kazemi made a basket following an offensive rebound. A 3-pointer by Spencer and a three-point play by Warren helped LSU move ahead by eight points at 54-46.
Rice held the Tigers without a field goal for more than two minutes to make it a one-possession game. A short jumper by Jackson put the Owls behind 55-52 with 2:51 left in the game. LSU then held on down the stretch for the victory.
