Matt McMahon, LSU Basketball Knock Off Florida State 85-75 in SEC/ACC Challenge

Cam Carter leads the way for the Tigers, lifts LSU to a pivotal non-conference victory on Tuesday night.

Dec 3, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Matt McMahon gives direction against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

BATON ROUGE, La. – Another second-half flurry led the LSU Tigers to victory as it snapped Florida State’s four-game winning streak with an 85-75 victory Tuesday night as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge at the Maravich Center.

After being down 35-32 after the first half, LSU opened the second stanza on an 8-0 run to take a lead that it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. The Tigers are now 7-1 this season and 5-0 when trailing at halftime.

Florida State falls to another SEC team this season and is now 7-2. The Tigers lead the Seminoles in the all-time series 4-3 and are 3-0 win playing inside the PMAC.  

Cam Carter turned in his fifth game of the season with 20 or more points, finishing with a season-high 26 on 8-of-15 shooting and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe. Carter pulled down a season-best eight rebounds and had two steals. Jordan Sears’ 21 points (15 in the second half) was the catalyst that led LSU’s latest second-half charge before pulling away late. Sears shot 6-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from deep, and set a new season-high with six rebounds. Vyctorius Miller tallied his sixth consecutive double-figure game with 15 points off the bench. Three of his four field goals were 3-pointers, and he had two blocks and a steal in the win.     

LSU’s 8-0 run to open the final 20 minutes was sparked by 3-pointers from Carter and Miller to grab hold of a 40-35 lead, forcing Florida State to burn an early timeout less than two minutes into the half. The Tigers increased their margin to 49-40 with three-balls by Sears and Miller and held a 54-45 advantage at the 12:01 mark. FSU pulled within four points on a few occasions, including at 58-54, but LSU pushed its lead to double figures at 66-56 with 6:38 left on the clock, featuring a personal 6-2 run by Sears. The Tigers lead ballooned to as many as 12 points as the home team ran away with the victory.   

After the game’s first four minutes, both clubs shot 3-of-7 from the floor for a 7-7 tie. LSU went on an 8-2 run, highlighted by a 6-0 burst to take a 15-9 lead, but despite four minutes without a field goal, FSU responded with a 10-2 run to take a 19-17 margin with 8:26 on the clock. After playing to a 23-23 tie, the Seminoles scored nine unanswered points, taking advantage of three LSU turnovers in a two-minute span, and held their largest lead at the half, 30-23, when the Tigers signaled for time with 4:30 left in the half. LSU eventually trimmed the deficit to three points for a 35-32 score at the half after holding FSU scoreless for the final three minutes.

LSU shot 45.2 percent in the game (28-62), including 57.1 percent in the second half after shooting 35.3 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Tigers knocked down nine triples in the game and scored 20 points off 14 turnovers. LSU also finished with eight blocked shots, six coming in the second half.

Florida State was held to a 38.9 field goal percentage (28-72) and was 6-of-19 from 3-point range (31.6%). FSU won the rebounding battle 45-43, and both clubs scored 36 points in the paint.

The Seminoles were led by Malique Ewin’s 17 points and 17 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards. Jamir Watkins had 15 points, Chandler Jackson had 12, and Jerry Deng totaled 11 points.

LSU will play Florida Gulf Coast at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Dec. 8, at the PMAC. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

More LSU News:

Paul Finebaum: LSU, Brian Kelly in a "Really Bad Spot" Moving Forward

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.