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Louisiana State University

Johnny O'Bryant III, LSU upset No. 11 Kentucky

Glenn Guilbeau
USA TODAY Sports
LSU Tigers forward Johnny O'Bryant III is defended by Kentucky Wildcats center Dakari Johnson in the first half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
  • LSU beat Kentucky%2C 87-82
  • Icy roads limited the Baton Rouge crowd to 7%2C000 fans
  • Johnny O%27Bryant III had 29 points and nine rebounds

BATON ROUGE, La. — Put Kentucky on ice.

School was out and major roads were closed amid a rare winter storm, but the LSU basketball team was open for business.

The Tigers upset No. 11 Kentucky, 87-82, in front of only about 7,000 fans because of the icy roads. More than 3,500 were students, who walked to the game, ate free hot dogs and made the Pete Maravich Assembly Center sound full.

"With all the weather out there, for you to come out and support the Tigers tonight, you are the reason we got the win," LSU coach Johnny Jones said on the microphone at center court after the game. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

The Tigers (13-6, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) were hot from the outset as they took a 12-2 lead in the first three minutes, led by as many as 16 in the first half and kept a double-digit lead throughout the second half for their first win over Kentucky since March 13, 2009, in the SEC Tournament. LSU shot 50 percent in the first half, 51 percent in the second and 50 for the game while also hitting 38 percent from 3-point range (7 of 18).

LSU, which never trailed, snapped a five-game losing streak to Kentucky and beat the Wildcats in the Assembly Center for the first time since 2006. It was just Tigers' fourth win over a ranked team beginning with the 2006-07 season against 19 losses.

Kentucky (15-5, 5-2 SEC) closed within 42-36 before halftime but found itself behind by 14 midway through the second half and was down 81-68 in the final minutes before a late run.

"They came out fighting, and we were passive," Kentucky coach John Calipari said during an in-game interview in the first half. "This is what we need. We needed some adversity. You've got to give LSU credit."

LSU junior forward Johnny O'Bryant stormed Kentucky's school of freshmen All-Americans with a season-high 29 points along with nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior forward Shavon Coleman added 14 and another nine rebounds. Freshman forward Jordan Mickey also scored 14. Junior guard Anthony Hickey, a Hopkinsville, Ky., native whom Kentucky did not want, added 11 points and six assists.

Freshman forward James Young led the Wildcats with 23 points and seven rebounds. Dakari Johnson scored 15 before fouling out. Freshman Aaron Harrison added 14.

LSU started the second half much like the first – with more energy overall and power inside – and got right back up by double digits.

O'Bryant put LSU up 50-40 near the 17-minute mark on a short one-hander, and he hit a baseline jumper for a 52-42 lead a minute later. That soon grew to 14 points with Hickey and Andre Stringer hitting back-to-back 3-pointers at the 13:32 and 12:48 marks for a 62-48 advantage.

Mike the Tiger did not repel from the ceiling as in former coach Dale Brown's salad days, but the Tigers nearly blew the roof off the Assembly Center at the outset with Brown in attendance.

Not long after public address announcer Dan Borne opened the game with "Welcome to the Ice Dome, and chance of rain? Never," the Tigers stormed out to a 12-2 lead in less than three minutes.

O'Bryant's jumper for his sixth point put the Tigers up by 10 after Coleman warmed the place up with a 3-pointer for a 7-2 lead. LSU extended that to 16 at 22-6 less than four minutes later on a pair of free throws by Mickey with 13:26 to play. At this point, O'Bryant already had 10 and finished the half with 15.

Kentucky, though, gradually settled itself and LSU down and quickly cut the lead to 10 at 25-15 midway through the first half. The Wildcats got as close three twice at 27-24 on a dunk by Julius Randle and at 29-26 on a layup by Alex Poythress with 5:25 to go, but LSU kept playing.

A 3-pointer by Stringer put the Tigers up by 41-33 with 2:12 to go before the half, and O'Bryant's free throw gave LSU a 42-33 lead with 1:34 left. A 3-point play by Poythress closed a thrilling half with Kentucky down 42-36.

The Tigers shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and were 5 of 13 from 3-point range for 38 percent.

Glenn Guilbeau also writes for Gannett Louisiana.

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