LSU’s Justice Hill scored a layup on a Wake Forest defensive breakdown with 2.1 seconds left as the Tigers, who were boosted by KJ Williams’ 35 points, won 72-70 on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta as part of neutral-site games in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event.
It capped a huge comeback for LSU (8-1), which trailed by 20 in the first half. Hill had just four points, but he made the decisive basket.
Wake Forest didn’t get a shot off after the Tigers took their final lead.
Williams made 14 of 21 shots from the field, including 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. Cam Hayes, a transfer from North Carolina State, posted 13 points, six assists and five steals off the bench and Derek Fountain supplied 11 points and four steals.
Tyree Appleby scored 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting and added six assists for Wake Forest (7-3), which has lost consecutive games. Matthew Marsh racked up 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench and Cameron Hildreth had 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Demon Deacons shot 50.9 percent from the field but were hurt by 15 turnovers compared to LSU’s seven.
A back-and-forth stretch set up the final sequence, which at one point had LSU holding a four-point lead.
A dunk by Marsh closed the gap to 70-69. An Appleby free throw tied the score with 1:13 to play.
Williams missed on a drive to give Wake Forest another chance to go ahead, but Damari Monsanto was off the mark on a 3-pointer. The Tigers collected the rebound and called timeout with 15.9 seconds left to set up the winning possession.
Williams pulled in nine rebounds to help close LSU’s rebounding deficit to 37-30.
LSU got back into it and took the lead in part because of offensive rebounding, pulling in three of their own missed free throws.
Wake Forest, which was almost spotless in building the 20-point lead in the first half, led 41-33 at halftime on the strength of 53.3 percent shooting from the field despite nine turnovers. A huge rebounding advantage also helped the cause, but that was reversed in the second half.
This marked the second straight season that LSU defeated Wake Forest in a neutral-site game.
–Field Level Media
