LSU gets another impressive win but loses Jalen Reed to a knee injury

GLENN GUILBEAU, editor of Tiger Rag

LSU continued to build on its NCAA Tournament record with another Power 5 conference win over Florida State, 85-75, in the Southeastern Conference/Atlantic Coast Conference at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday night.

And the Tigers (7-1) were without one of their best players, junior forward Jalen Reed, who left with a knee injury after a layup 1:37 into the first half but fell awkwardly on his knee. He was unable to put weight on it as he was helped off the pitch.

“Jalen Reed sprained his knee,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “He will be examined tomorrow (Wednesday). We will provide a further update once this testing is complete.”

Things weren’t looking good for Reed, a third-year LSU player from Jackson, Mississippi, who leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game, is averaging 12.4 points and has blocked eight shots. But just two weeks ago, things were looking bad for junior forward Daimion Collins when he dislocated his shoulder.

And Collins, who missed virtually all of last season due to a similar injury that required surgery, made a surprise return to the lineup on Tuesday after only getting in a full practice on Monday. He scored four points with three rebounds and blocked four shots in 18 minutes off the bench.

“One day of practice and he comes out and blocks four shots,” McMahon said. “Sunday was his first day back. His first contact training session was on Monday and he said he felt good – no pain. And he was ready to help the team. He had a great offseason (rehabilitating the previous injury) and we are excited to have him back.”

LSU freshmen Corey Chest and Robert Miller III and Collins helped pick up the slack after Reed’s injury. Chest led the Tigers with 10 rebounds and scored four points, while Miller added four rebounds and five points with a blocked shot.

“We hated to see Jalen go down,” senior point guard Jordan Sears said. “But there was still no disappointment when Corey and Damion and even Robert Miller came along.”

With the interior taken care of, LSU’s versatile guards took over. Senior Cam Carter scored a game-high 26 on 8 of 15 shooting from 3-point range and eight rebounds. Sears added 21 on 6 of 16 shooting from distance and six rebounds. And true freshman Vyctorius Miller scored 15 points, including 13 in the second half.

LSU trailed the Seminoles (7-2) 35-32 at halftime, but their guards couldn’t be guarded in the second half as they scored on a 3-pointer from V. Miller at 14:02 Mark played out a 49:40 lead. Guard Dji Bailey hit a layup to take a 10-point lead at 66-56 with 6:38 to play, and LSU led by as many as 12 points heading into the home stretch and was ahead by double digits most of the way.

“I think it’s huge,” McMahon said of the win, which gave the Tigers a 3-1 mark against Power 5 programs this season.

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton was particularly impressed with LSU’s guards.

“Last time I was here, I think they threw a tiger off the ceiling,” said Hamilton, an assistant coach and senior recruiter at Kentucky from 1974 to 1986, who visited with former LSU coach Dale Brown before the game .

Hamilton expects LSU to reach the NCAA Tournament, while Brown’s teams had 10 straight seasons from 1984 to 1993.

“They just supported and made the threes with confidence,” Hamilton said. “I’m not sure if I could have let my player shoot from such a long distance. They continue to play like that and that will be a difficult task for many teams. If they avoid injuries, they will be a real factor in the SEC race.”