Cam Carter powers LSU Basketball over Arkansas in 78-74 win

BATON ROUGE – A pair of long second-half runs and a season-high 27 points by Cam Carter propelled LSU to a 78-74 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night at the Maravich Center for its first Southeastern Conference win of 2025.

LSU strung together a 14-3 run between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to take its first lead and a 20-3 run to create space late in the second half to secure the win.

Snapping its three-game losing streak, LSU picked up its third straight win at home in the series against Arkansas and improved to 22-13 when playing the Razorbacks at the PMAC. The Tigers are now 10-1 in home games this season.

LSU improves to 12-5 on the season and 1-3 in league play, and Arkansas falls to 11-6 and 0-4 in the SEC this season.

The Tigers took the field in two of the final three games of the month, beginning with a tip-off on Saturday at 7:30 pm at Texas A&M inside Reed Arena.

Carter scored 18 points in the second half alone and was 7-of-15 shooting overall, including three 3-point field goals and a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line.

Jordan Sears scored 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting, 3-of-8 from deep and 4-of-4 at the stripe. Sears also led the team with three assists and had two steals.

Daimion Collins had a career-high 10 rebounds and matched a career-best four blocks, including a game-ending block. Collins had seven points.

Mike Williams III played a season-high 17 minutes off the bench, scoring eight points (2-of-2), including a triple, was 3-of-4 at the free throw line and tallied two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Arkansas had five players finish in double figures in scoring, led by Boogie Fland’s 19 points and five assists.

LSU shot 40.0 percent from the floor (22-of-55), knocked down eight triples and was an impressive 26-of-28 at the free throw line (92.9%).

LSU shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the second half. Arkansas shot 39.1 percent from the floor (27-of-69) and 45.0 percent from 3-point range (9-of-20). The Tigers outshot Arkansas 39-37.

After trailing 36-34 in the first 20 minutes, LSU opened the second half on a 9-3 run to build a 43-39 lead. Dji Bailey scored the first point of the half and Carter followed with a layup to give LSU its first lead at 38-36.

Carter’s second triple of the night gave LSU a four-point margin to end a 14-3 scoring run between the two halves before Arkansas scored 11 straight points to regain control with a 50-43 advantage.

Williams III stopped the run with a free throw and hit a corner three to spark a 15-2 run that gave LSU a 58-52 lead with 9:09 on the clock.

LSU led 58-54 at the sub-eight minute media timeout and scored six of the next seven points, including a 3-pointer from Carter to push LSU’s lead to 64-55, prompting a 30-second timeout by Arkansas with 5:57 left to play.

Fland tried to re-establish Arkansas’ momentum by scoring 10 straight points, including two 3-pointers that helped get the Razorbacks within three points at 68-65, but a layup by Sears, a defensive stop and Carter’s pull-up jumper at left elbow gave LSU a seven-point lead with 2:34 on the clock.

A late 3-pointer and two free throws by Arkansas made it a one-possession game with 28 seconds left, but LSU finished 6-of-6 down the stretch at the charity stripe and a defensive possession that ended with a block by Collins secured the Tigers the 78-74 victory.

It was a slow start for LSU, who shot 1-of-13 to start the game and saw Arkansas take an 11-4 lead. Although the Tigers went over three minutes without a field goal, a pair of free throws capped by a 3-pointer from Jordan Sears cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 11-9 just before the sub-12-minute media timeout.

Arkansas went on a 15-3 run highlighted by 12 unanswered points to go ahead 26-16, but LSU responded with a 7-0 run ignited by a pair of buckets from Carter and a triple from Curtis Givens III to pull within five points at 28-23 with 4:47 left in the half.

Arkansas led 30-23 at the final media timeout, but LSU closed the half, outscoring the visiting team 11-6, highlighted by a three-ball by Carter to go into the half up 36-34. The Razorbacks held the edge in field goal percentage (43.8% – 34.5%). However, LSU was 10-of-10 at the free throw line and outscored Arkansas 21-17, including a 7-5 margin on the offensive glass in the first 20 minutes.

Matt McMahon: Opening statement
I was really proud of our players’ fight, toughness and response tonight. I thought we really competed on the defensive end of the floor. The two-point defense was just great for us. I think we held them to 18-49 from there, about 36%. Blocked 11 shots. I love some of the matchups we were able to win at the rim. And then offensively, Cam was great. 27 points, did it on just 15 shots. I thought our spacing was much better – led to some better driving opportunities and good decision making from our guards. All in all, a fantastic team win. I look forward to getting back to work tomorrow and getting ready for the weekend.”

On the offensive execution…
“I think it came down to spacing. I thought we screened a lot better to create some advantages for our players. We were worried going in. Arkansas is a top-5 shot-blocking team in America. But the free throw line ended up being huge for us. We’ve been shooting it at a high percentage to start the league, we just haven’t gotten there enough. And getting there 28 times tonight is just amazing for our team.”

LSU Guard Cam Carter
About Daimion Collins…
“Man, Daim is a baller. Especially going through what he’s going through with his body. That guy is a baller. He is tough mentally and physically. He is a dog. He is from Atlanta, Texas. I’m so happy to have him on our team.”

LSU Guard Jordan Sears
On the difference between tonight and the first three SEC games…
“I would say our spacing. We had a lot better spacing in this game. It allowed us to read the floor. The floor opened up for us. We got onto a couple of ball screens. We were able to deflect a couple and make passes. So that stretched the defense out for us and we were able to attack the basket.”

Arkansas head coach John Calipari

Opening statement
“I’ll just comment today, they scrapped us, beat us to some balls, made some big plays. I need to do a better job with my team. We got up at 12 again. This is the third or fourth game. We get up at 12 and suddenly you turn around and that’s it, you know.

So I thought we were prepared for that moment, but we just had a few turnovers, missed shots, and I want to see the tape, but they scrapped us. I mean, you know, we did some half-decent stuff … We were just trying to face the court and get something, and (Guard) Boogie (Fland) got it going. So we just let him continue. So he got us back.

We didn’t want to foul on the 5 (LSU Guard Cam Carter) or 1 (Jordan Sears), but to be honest they all made free throws … I guess it didn’t matter, but we were going to have a tough trap and then we put Billy (Richmond III) from the ball.

We did everything we had to do to make it close so we would have one chance to win the game. You know, an obvious turnover, it was critical, but it happens. I thought we played with more joy than we have. I know I train like that, but like I said, I need to do a better job. And I told them after the game that I’m not breaking, so let’s just keep going. Let’s get ready for the next one. We have a day off tomorrow and two days in Missouri on the road.”

What LSU did to make it difficult for Arkansas to score in the second half…
“They made some changes that kept people in front and again, I thought there were some opportunities for us to get someone else a shot. But if you looked at my team, it was the right three (Fland, Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner) , who shot the ball.

I wish we had gotten the ball more to Jonas (Aidoo). And we had talked about it. We went together, if they’re open in there, throw it away. But they were the ones who got around the post. And I told them, you have to keep them behind you. But you know, they fought. Both teams struggled.

We have to end the game at some point. And again, they were 9-for-20 from the three-point line. We were eight-for-22, but a lot of them were at the end.”

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