In came forward Storm Warren, center Malcolm White, and guard Chris Bass. Out went No. 10 Marquette’s hold on the game.
“We got hit in the face a little bit,” Johnson said. “Those guys came in and gave us some energy. ... Your ability to keep your poise and play through some adversity is huge.”
The seniors helped LSU take the lead before halftime, Ralston Turner went on to score 22 points, and LSU extended its winning streak to five games while handing Marquette its first loss, 67-59 on Monday night.
Turner hit two clutch 3-pointers in the final 4 minutes to give the Tigers the lead and added two free throws to make it 60-54 with 1:19 to go. Justin Hamilton then closed out a 13-point performance by making seven free throws in the last 53 seconds to ensure the Tigers (8-3) held off a comeback attempt by the Golden Eagles (10-1).
Jae Crowder scored 22 points for Marquette, which was trying to improve to 11-0 for the first time since 1972-73.
Instead, the Golden Eagles failed to find the knockout blow after their fast start.
“As good as we were in the first 4 minutes, we were just as bad in the last 15 minutes” of the first half, Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. “We landed the first blow in the fight, but from that point forward they kept jabbing. They got us on our heels.”
Marquette came in shooting nearly 50 percent on the season. LSU responded by packing the inside with defenders and Marquette was uncharacteristically unable to hit shots, connecting on only 36.2 percent (21 of 58).
The Golden Eagles attempted 23 3-pointers, hitting only 8.
LSU took mostly high percentage shots and made 53.5 percent (23 of 43), far above its 39 percent mark for the season.
Warren scored 10 points for LSU, all in the first half. The Tigers outrebounded Marquette 35-32 and held a 22-18 advantage in scoring inside.
“This game shows us that the work we put in and our dedication and commitment that we have to each other and on our defense pays off,” Warren said. “Our confidence has been up. Even in certain situations, we held our heads high and we competed.”
Marquette’s Darius Johnson-Odom, returning from a one-game suspension for violating team rules, scored 16 points.
His layup sparked an 8-0 second-half run that was capped by Crowder’s fall-away jumper, which put Marquette ahead 31-29.
After that, it was a seesaw affair in which neither team could build a lead of more than three points until LSU’s John Isaac hit a baseline jumper with 1:43 to go to make it 58-54 and send Johnson into a fist-pumping leap on the sideline.
A Marquette turnover on a play that appeared to deflect off LSU point guard Anthony Hickey led to two more free throws by Turner to make it 60-54 with 1:19 to go, and the 7-foot Hamilton wrapped it up from there.
Early on, it looked like Marquette might run LSU out of its own building. Crowder scored the game’s opening basket and eight of his points in the first 3:01, before LSU had even scored a point.
Soon after, Johnson subbed in the seniors and the Tigers quickly clawed back into the game.
Turner’s first of four 3s gave LSU its first points nearly 4 minutes into the game and ignited an 8-0 run.
After Marquette’s Devante Gardner scored inside as he was fouled, LSU went on a 7-0 run that was capped by Turner’s three free throws after he was fouled beyond the arc, bringing an increasingly charged-up crowd to its feet.
“The fans, they were just — wow — it was like a football game,” said Hickey, who had eight points, six assists and four steals.
Crowder converted a 3 as he was fouled into a four-point play, briefly pushing Marquette’s lead to 20-15, but LSU responded with another six straight points and took a 21-20 lead when Warren scored inside with 7:50 left in the half.
Warren followed that up a few possessions later by soaring into the paint for a one-handed putback jam, clenching his fists in front of his chest as he came down while the student section behind the basket went wild.
LSU held Marquette without a field goal for a span of 7:59 before Junior Cadougan’s inside basket pulled the Golden Eagles to 26-23 shortly before halftime.
By then, it was apparent Marquette would have to work for everything it got.
“We’re going to handle this loss as men,” Crowder said. “We’re not going to handle this like immature people. We’re going to handle it like men, go back, look at the things we did wrong and fix it. Hopefully guys step up to the plate and fix the problem.”
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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