Watford, Manning help LSU grab 79-77 thriller over Arkansas

Trendon Watford made a three-point play and Charles Manning blocked two field goal attempts in the final seconds as LSU defeated Arkansas 79-77 in a Southeastern Conference game Wednesday night.

The lead changed hands eight times in the final six minutes. Watford put the Tigers (10-4, 2-0) ahead 76-74 with a three-point play with 32 seconds remaining in the game. The Razorbacks (12-2, 1-1) regained the lead on a three-point play by Isaiah Joe with 21 seconds to play.

LSU kept possession after Skylar Mays had his shot blocked out of bounds by Adrio Bailey with 12 seconds left. Watford then made his second three-point play with eight seconds to play. Arkansas had two shots at a game-winning 3-pointer, but Manning blocked both – one by Joe and one by Desi Sills.

Watford led LSU with a season-high 21 points. Mays had 19 points, while Darius Days had 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Javonte Smart had ten points.

Mason Jones, who fouled out in the final minute, was the top scorer for the Razorbacks with 24 points. Jimmy Whitt had 22 points and Joe scored 13 – all in the second half.

Neither team had more than a four-point lead until Arkansas put together a 12-0 run late in the first half. Jones and Bailey combined for all 12 Razorbacks points. A 3-pointer by Jones put Arkansas ahead 35-24 with 4:06 before halftime.

LSU responded with its own spurt down the stretch of the first half. Days knocked down two 3-pointers to help the Tigers reduce their double-digit deficit. A foul shot by Days with 22 seconds remaining left LSU behind the Razorbacks 40-37 at halftime.

BIG PICTURE

LSU: The Tigers won their first close game of the season as they had dropped three games by two points in the non-conference portion of the schedule to VCU, Utah State and Southern California.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks suffered their first defeat of the season in regulation. Arkansas’ other defeat came in overtime at Western Kentucky.

UP NEXT

LSU will play another home SEC game when it faces Mississippi State on Saturday.

Arkansas will play a second straight SEC road game when it meets Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday.