LSU Rally Falls Short In 80-72 Setback Versus Vanderbilt

BATON ROUGE, La. – An 11-2 second-half rally gave LSU a 56-55 lead with 6:34 left to play, but Vanderbilt overcame the threat and walked out of the Maravich Center with an 80-72 victory Saturday afternoon to open SEC play and ends LSU’s three-game winning streak.

LSU dropped its first home contest in the 2024-25 season and moves to 11-3, while Vanderbilt improves to 13-1 and 1-0 in league play, extending its winning streak to seven in a row.

LSU will play four of its next five games on the road, beginning with an 8 p.m. CT contest at Missouri on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.

The Tigers shot 50.0 percent from the floor (24-of-48) and 82.6 percent from the free throw line (19-of-23). LSU held the Commodores to a 43.8 clip on 28-of-64 shooting. Vanderbilt knocked down eight 3-pointers in the game and outrebounded LSU 37-27, including a 17-5 margin on the offensive glass and an 18-4 advantage in second-chance points. Vandy forced 15 LSU turnovers that converted into 18 points and dominated in bench scoring, 40-8.

Cam Carter finished with a game-high 22 points (8-of-17), marking his seventh 20-point performance of the season and second in as many games. Carter was 4-of-11 from 3-point range, matched a season-high three steals, pulled down three rebounds and had one assist. Jordan Sears tacked on 17 points (4-of-11) and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Sears also had two assists and one steal. Corey Chest rounded out LSU’s top scorers with 12 points (4-of-6), led the team with five rebounds and had two assists and two steals.

Vanderbilt had five players finish in double-digit scoring, led by A.J. Hoggard’s 17 points, including 13 points in the second half. When holding off LSU’s run, Hoggard had a stretch, scoring 12 of the Commodore’s 19 points before garbage time set in. Jaylen Carey and MJ Collins had 14 points, Jason Edwards added 12, and Tyler Nickel had 11 and was 3-of-6 from behind the arc.

LSU scored the game’s first points with a jumper by Daimion Collins, but a 7-2 run by Vanderbilt put the Commodores ahead 11-8. The visiting team led 18-15 at the 11:42 mark, and after another 7-2 scoring run, Vandy led 23-17 with 7:10 remaining in the half, as they held the Tigers scoreless for over four minutes. Collins stopped the drought with a jumper just in front of the free throw line, but LSU turned the ball over on the next two possessions and called a 30-second timeout, with Vanderbilt scoring four points on those turnovers to grab a 27-19 advantage with a little over five minutes left to play in the half. The Commodores increased their margin to double figures at 32-19 as part of a 9-0 run and went into the half with a 34-27 lead. LSU shot 47.4 percent from the floor (9-of-19) compared to Vanderbilt’s 44.1 percent (15-of-34), but the Tigers turned the ball over 11 times in the opening 20 minutes, and the Commodores capitalized on them by scoring 15 points. LSU only had two points off three Vandy turnovers. Both clubs combined 3-of-18 from 3-point range in the opening half.

LSU outscored Vanderbilt 10-8 in the first few minutes of the second half, highlighted by six points from Sears to trim the deficit to 42-37 with 15:58 on the clock. Carter buried a triple from the wing to pull LSU within two points at 42-40, but Edwards answered with a 3-pointer of his own, sparking a quick five unanswered points to put the Commodores back up, 47-40. Carter dropped another trey ball, and Curtis Givens III’s layup cut Vandy’s lead to 47-45, but a second-chance 3-pointer by Nickel brought the score to 50-45, which was the lead by the 11:25 media timeout. The Commodores pushed their margin back to eight at 53-45, but the Tigers responded with an overall 10-2 run, featuring six unanswered points and capped by a 3-pointer from Carter to tie the game at 55, forcing a Vanderbilt timeout with 8:13 on the game clock. A free throw by Bailey gave LSU a 56-55 lead, its first since 16:47 in the first half, but a 6-0 burst by Vanderbilt, highlighted by a four-point possession, all scored by Hoggard, put the visitors back on top 61-56. Hoggard went in take-over mode, scoring Vanderbilt’s following five points for a 66-59 advantage, and although LSU had another push to make it a one-possession game at 66-63, Carey and Hoggard completed three-point plays for Vanderbilt to make the score 72-65 with 2:01 left in the game. LSU got as close as five points down the stretch, but Vanderbilt pushed the lead back to 11 with 27 seconds left.

(Release via LSU Athletics)

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