Williams’ Big Night Powers LSU Past Vanderbilt

The LSU Tigers defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores 84-77 Wednesday night in Baton Rouge. KJ Williams matched his season high with 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help end LSU’s 14-game losing streak. This was the first victory for the Tigers since its only other SEC win of the season against Arkansas back on Dec. 28.

This road loss snapped Vanderbilt’s five-game winning streak that included wins over Tennessee, Auburn and Florida.

With the win, LSU improved to 13-15 and 2-13 in the SEC, while Vanderbilt fell to 15-13 and 8-7 in conference play.

Back In The Win Column ✅#GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/J8sAmTy0kP

— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) February 23, 2023

Strong First Half for LSU

Vanderbilt took the lead early on Wednesday. On the first possession of the game, Commodores guard Tyrin Lawrence knocked down a three-pointer. After multiple misses on both sides of the floor and a layup from Tyrell Ward to get LSU on the board, Lawrence hit another three. He finished with 19 points on the night, 11 of which coming in the first half. Liam Robbins then drained Vanderbilt’s third three-point basket to put them up 9-2.

This seven point advantage ended up being the largest lead of the game for the Commodores as LSU stormed back. Long-range buckets from Ward, Williams and Justice Hill tied the game at 11.

With 11:48 to play in the first, Vanderbilt led 18-15. The Tigers then scored 13 unanswered points in the next five-and-a-half minutes of play.

After a Robbins three-pointer with just under a minute to play, Williams found himself wide open at the top of the key to answer with a three of his own to put LSU up by seven.

https://twitter.com/LSUBasketball/status/1628557956114694144

At the end of one, the Tigers led 39-32.

LSU Holds on in Second Half

Vanderbilt started off the second half well. They went on an 8-2 run in the first three minutes, capped off by a Lawrence layup assisted by Ezra Manjon.

With just under 13 minutes to play in the game, Vanderbilt guard Trey Thomas knocked down a three-pointer to give Vanderbilt a 49-48 lead. This was the first time they led since there was 9:47 left in the first half.

Two minutes later, Williams made a layup to put LSU back on top, 52-50. After this bucket, the Tigers didn’t look back the rest of the way.

Leading by four with under a minute to play in the game, Williams set a slip-screen at the top of the key that left him open behind the arc. He drained the dagger that put LSU up 80-73.

https://twitter.com/LSUBasketball/status/1628575797501124609

The Tigers won by a final score of 84-77 in what was their first victory in almost two months.

Key Players

LSU’s Williams finished with a game-high 35 points on 13-25 shooting and 5-10 from three-point range. He also added 10 rebounds to secure his seventh double-double of the season. Adam Miller scored 18 points for the Tigers to go along with a team-high two steals.

For Vanderbilt, Robbins led the team with 23 points and was one block away from a triple-double as he had 11 rebounds and 9 rejections. Lawrence scored 19 for the Commodores on 8-12 shooting. Thomas and Colin Smith both added 11 for Vanderbilt as well.

Back on the Floor Saturday

Both LSU and Vanderbilt will play again Saturday against SEC opponents.

The Tigers will go on the road to take on Ole Miss at 8:30 p.m. This will be a matchup between the two teams who are tied for last place in the conference as they both have 2-13 records in the SEC.

The Commodores will welcome the Gators to Nashville this weekend. Vanderbilt beat Florida 88-80 the last time these two sides met in Gainesville. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday.