National Basketball Association
Virginia 57, Louisiana State 52
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, January 2, 2012
Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Officials:
# Mike Eades, # Michael Kitts, # Mike Stuart
Attendance:
8810
By SportsDirect Inc.
Sammy Zeglinski scored 17 points and No. 23 Virginia matched its best start in 30 years with a 57-52 victory over host LSU on Monday.
Joe Harris had 14 points and Mike Scott added 12 for Virginia (13-1), which is off to its best start since it was 27-1 en route to the Final Four in 1981-1982. The Cavaliers have won 11 straight for the first time since 1992-93. They avoided becoming the second ranked team to lose at LSU this season and ended the Tigers’ seven-game winning streak.
Justin Hamilton scored a career-high 21 points for LSU (10-4), but he was stripped of the ball after a key block late, which allowed the Cavaliers to hang on to a tenuous two-point lead.
No other player reached double figures for the Tigers, who suffered their first loss since Nov. 23 despite the return of leading scorer Andre Stringer. He returned from a five-game absence and finished with eight points.
The final non-conference game for both teams featured nine ties and 13 lead changes. The Cavaliers took a slim lead thanks to a 13-5 run, which was capped by a 3-pointer from Zeglinski that made it 51-47 with 3:27 to play.
The Tigers pulled to within 54-52 on a jumper from Hamilton with 55 seconds left and the home crowd was sensing LSU’s second win over a ranked opponent at home in less than a month. The Tigers beat then-No. 11 Marquette on Dec. 19.
It grew even louder when Hamilton blocked Harris on the other end, but Assane Sene snuck up from behind and poked the ball loose. Zeglinski hit one of two free throws and Ralston Turner’s potential game-tying 3-pointer rimmed out.
Scott sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
Top Game Performances
Virginia |
|
Louisiana State |
Sammy Zeglinski 17 |
Scoring |
Justin Hamilton 21 |
Jontel Evans 5 |
Assists |
Chris Bass 4 |
Mike Scott 9 |
Rebounds |
Justin Hamilton 9 |
Jontel Evans 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Justin Hamilton 3 |
Jontel Evans 3 |
Steals |
Justin Hamilton 2 |
N/A |
Blocks |
Justin Hamilton 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Virginia
|
57 |
44.7 |
6-10 |
9-13 |
11 |
25 |
0 |
12 |
15 |
Louisiana State
|
52 |
43.8 |
5-18 |
5-8 |
10 |
24 |
6 |
5 |
16 |