Noah Clowney and Rylan Griffen scored 14 points apiece, and No. 4 Alabama held off LSU 79-69 on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
Nimari Burnett and Mark Sears each added 13 points and Brandon Miller had 11 for the Crimson Tide (20-3, 10-0 Southeastern Conference).
Derek Fountain scored a career-high 26 points and Cam Hayes added 15 to lead the Tigers (12-11, 1-9), who lost their 10th straight.
Fountain scored four points and Hayes made a 3-pointer as the Tigers climbed within 50-48 early in the second half.
Miller converted a three-point play, but Justice Hill answered with a 3-pointer and LSU got within two points once more.
Griffen made a 3-pointer and Jahvon Quinerly added a layup to give Alabama a 61-54 lead.
Fountain made a free throw before Clowney scored five points to help the Tide open a 10-point lead midway through the half.
KJ Williams’ jumper got the Tigers within six, but Griffen made a 3-pointer and Sears made two 3-pointers as Alabama expanded the lead to 75-63.
Hayes made two free throws and Fountain added a three-point play for just the Tigers’ second field goal in nearly seven minutes, trimming the lead to seven points with 2:56 left. But LSU scored just one more point.
Fountain had a layup and a 3-pointer as LSU took an 8-4 lead and the score was tied twice before Alabama took the lead for good.
Burnett scored five points during an 8-0 run that gave the Tide a 19-11 lead. Fountain stopped the run by making two free throws.
The Tigers closed within four points before Griffen scored five straight points.
Fountain made two free throws to pull LSU within 31-28 and the Tigers got within three on two more occasions.
Alabama scored seven straight points to push the lead to 10 before Hayes concluded the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer that left the Tide with a 44-37 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
