BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — E.C. Matthews scored 21 points Saturday as Rhode Island held off a late rally and defeated LSU 74-70 in a nonconference game.
The Rams (9-6) scored eight-consecutive points to go ahead 67-59 with 4:58 remaining. The Tigers (9-3) got within one point at 71-70 following two foul shots by Andre Stringer and a field goal by Johnny O’Bryant.
LSU then had two chances to take the lead, but one possession ended with a turnover by O’Bryant, and Anthony Hickey missed a runner in the lane in the other. Xavier Munford connected on one of two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining to give the Tigers one last opportunity.
Hickey missed a long 3-point attempt and Matthews rebounded for the Rams. Matthews, a freshman, then sank two foul shots with 1.4 seconds remaining to clinch the Rhode Island victory.
The 21 points matched Matthews’ season-high.
