Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Memphis 76, Louisiana State 69
When: 5:30 PM ET, Friday, November 29, 2013
Where: HP Field House, Kissimmee, Florida
Officials: # Bryan Kersey, # Zelton Steed, # Raymond Styons
Attendance: 2612

No. 19 Memphis 76, Louisiana State 69: Freshman forward Austin Nichols had 19 points and eight rebounds as the Tigers took the second semifinal at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla.

Chris Crawford added 17 points for Memphis (4-1), which will play No. 8 Oklahoma State in Sunday’s championship game at 7:30 p.m. ET. Joe Jackson contributed 16 points and seven assists for the Tigers.

Anthony Hickey scored 20 points to lead LSU (4-2). Johnny O’Bryant III added 14 points and nine rebounds but committed 10 turnovers and Jordan Mickey added 10 points and three blocks for the Tigers.

LSU committed 14 of its 24 turnovers in the first half but still managed to take a 38-34 lead into the break. LSU stretched its lead to eight on two occasions, but the last 10 minutes went back-and-forth.

O’Bryant committed his fourth foul with 3:31 remaining and LSU trailing by two and that seemed to take some of the steam out of the Tigers. Nichols’ jumper from just above the free-throw line gave Memphis a 70-66 lead with 1:27 remaining and Jackson made four free throws sandwiched around a 3-pointer from Hickey to keep it a two-possession game.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Shaquille O’Neal, who played for LSU, watched from courtside. …The 14 first-half turnovers by LSU led to 20 of the 34 points for Memphis. … Michael Dixon Jr., who came in averaging 13.5 points for Memphis, shot 1-for-7 and scored two points.
Top Game Performances
 
Memphis   Louisiana State
Austin Nichols 19 Scoring Anthony Hickey 20
Joe Jackson 7 Assists Andre Stringer 3
Austin Nichols 8 Rebounds Johnny O'Bryant III 9
Joe Jackson 6 Free Throws Made Shavon Coleman 2
Joe Jackson 4 Steals Shavon Coleman 1
Austin Nichols 1 Blocks Jordan Mickey 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Memphis 76 45.3 3-10 15-19 12 21 1 9 10
Louisiana State 69 56.6 5-20 4-9 8 32 4 4 24