A week later, with one less player, LSU still found a way to cross the finish line.
UCLA transfer guard Donovan Dent made a driving layup that snapped a tie game with 8.2 seconds left and Mo Dioubate then stole the ball on the ensuing inbounds for another layup that gave the Tigers an 85-81 exhibition win Wednesday over Central Florida before a crowd of 1,772 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“We actually have games called six-minute games,” Dent said. “We work on late-game scenarios every day in practice. Coach (Will) Wade harps on the margin of victories. Six minutes (left) are the most important part of the game. That’s where most games are won. We just knew we had to lock down and clean up the free throws.”
LSU, which edged McNeese 63-60 with seven available players, won for the second time riding its starters for more than 38 minutes with the contribution of one substitute (Jordan Bender).
Wade would not discuss the status of his roster which lists 10 players on the school’s web site but had 13 on the roster handed out to the media before the game.
“I would love to update you, but because all of my words are being used against us,” Wade said. “I’m not trying to be a jerk. I’m not going to talk anything about eligibility right now just because of the situation we’ve got.”
Kansas State transfer Abdi Bashir Jr. scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and was one of four starters in double figures.
Dent came within a rebound of a triple-double with 21 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Dioubate, a Kentucky transfer, scored 15 points and 7-foot freshman Michael Ruzic added a double-double for the second straight game with 15 points and 13 rebounds to go with four blocked shots.
LSU travels for its final exhibition game on Oct. 24 at Florida State at noon. The Tigers open the season at home Nov. 3 with LSU-New Orleans.
“I just got back in my routine,” said Bashir, who was 1 of 12 and scored six in the team’s first exhibition game. “The McNeese game was my first game back since January. I kind of got my feet back and my teammates instilled a lot of confidence in me. (They) Kept telling me the next shot was going to fall. I got in the right spots, and I just made my shots tonight.”
UCF extended its two-point halftime lead to 55-48 three minutes into the second half on Isaiah Malone’s two free throws.
The Golden Knights maintained the upper hand for seven minutes until Bashir began to heat up and literally carried LSU for a six-minute stretch with 18 of his team’s 23 points, enabling the Tigers to open a 69-62 edge with under nine minutes to play.
Central Florida countered with a lineup of 12 players, 10 of which logged 10-plus minutes.
The Golden Knights of the Big 12 Conference, who were 21-12 and reached the NCAA tournament last season, were led by guard Dior Johnson’s 18 points, with Lewis Walker and Jason Asemota scoring 13 apiece.
UCF finally caught LSU, which went nearly six minutes without a field goal, and tied the game at 81-all on Johnson’s drive to the basket with 34.8 seconds showing.
The Tigers got the ball into Dent’s hand and the fifth-year senior calmy drove in for the go-ahead basket.
“He’s the leader, he’s the point guard,” Wade said. “The team follows him and he’s done a great job.”
There were seven lead changes over the last six-plus minutes in the first half when Walker’s 3-pointer made it 42-40 lead with 1:36 to go before halftime.
LSU tied the score for the fifth time on Ruzic’s lay-in with under a minute left when Lewis scored on a lay-in, and Cayden Vasko forced Dent into a turnover and Asemota, who came off the bench for a team-high 13 points, delivered his team’s ninth 3-pointer of the half to take a 47-42 lead.
The Tigers accounted for the final three points of the half when Dent was fouled on a shot that he forced up and fell through the basket. His free throw completed the three-point play and left the Tigers trailing, 47-45, at halftime.
LSU took its first lead of the game on the strength of a 12-0 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 19-10 lead – the Tigers’ largest – on Dent’s free throw and a short jumper from the baseline.
The Tigers maintained a nine-point advantage – 24-15 – when Bender got a 3-point attempt to kick high and fall through on a second-chance opportunity at the 10-minute mark.
“We’re still trying to work on a lot of the stuff because we all got here a little late,” Dent said. “We’re all building connections as we’re playing through the game.”
