BATON ROUGE, La. — In a thrilling matchup on Tuesday night, Cam Carter led LSU to a narrow victory over Arkansas with a commanding performance, scoring 27 points and helping his team secure a 78-74 win.
With just 21 seconds left in the game, Jordan Sears contributed to LSU’s final score by making two crucial free throws. Arkansas struggled to retaliate as they missed two shots and failed to convert on their final attempt, which was blocked.
Carter had an impressive shooting night, successfully making 7 of his 15 attempts from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and sinking all 10 shots from the charity stripe. Following him, Sears added support to the team with 17 points, hitting three 3-pointers himself, and shot 5-of-13 for LSU, which now stands at 12-5 overall and 1-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
On the other side, Boogie Fland was the standout for Arkansas, scoring 19 points and leading a balanced scoring effort with five players reaching double figures. Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo both contributed 13 and 12 points respectively, while each also made a significant impact on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds. Arkansas currently holds a record of 11-6 and is 0-4 in conference play.
Carter was instrumental during a pivotal moment in the game, netting nine points during a critical 23-7 run that gave LSU a 66-57 advantage with just under five minutes left on the clock. Fland responded with a strong effort, scoring eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to bring Arkansas within striking distance at 68-65 with 3:29 remaining. However, Carter managed to score four more points as part of a 7-4 surge, extending LSU’s lead to 76-69 in the closing seconds.
Arkansas attempted to fight back with a 3-pointer from Trevon Brazile and two free throws from Thiero, but it was Sears’ free throws that secured victory for the Tigers.
In terms of overall shooting, LSU recorded 22 of 55 (40%) from the field and exhibited impressive precision at the free-throw line, hitting 26 of 28 (93%). For its part, Arkansas shot 27-of-69 (39%) in the game and converted 11 of 13 free throws.
Looking ahead, LSU will travel to face No. 11 Texas A&M this Saturday. Meanwhile, Arkansas will try to break its four-game losing streak with an upcoming road game against Missouri on Saturday.
