National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisiana State 97, Alabama 94
When: 1:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 23, 2013
Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Officials: # James Barker, # Tim Gattis, # Michael Kitts
Attendance: 8200


Louisiana State 97, Alabama 94 (3OT): Johnny O’Bryant III scored 10 of his 24 points after regulation as the host Tigers dodged defeat twice and edged the Crimson Tide to avoid a regular-season sweep.

Senior guard Charles Carmouche registered the first point-rebound double-double of his career with 20 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out for LSU (16-9, 7-7 SEC), which has won seven of its last 10 contests.

Alabama (18-9, 10-4) saw its four-game winning streak snapped and wasted a banner day from Trevor Releford, who erupted for a career-high 36 points. Releford finished 14-of-18 from the field – including 4-of-4 beyond the arc – while Rodney Cooper added 18 points and nine rebounds.

In the third overtime, O’Bryant gave LSU the lead for good at 91-90 on a layup with 2:18 remaining and Anthony Hickey drained a 3-pointer from the right corner on the next possession to stake the Tigers to a four-point advantage. Releford cut the deficit to two on a jumper with nine seconds left, but O’Bryant drained a pair of free throws seconds later to seal the victory.

Alabama led by as many as 10 points in regulation following consecutive 3-pointers from Releford with 6:48 but went scoreless during the final 3:37, opening the door for the Tigers to pull even at 69 on two free throws from O’Bryant to send it into overtime. Cooper appeared to give the Tide the win in the first overtime when he followed in Releford’s miss at the buzzer, but officials ruled the tip-in came after time had expired.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Releford also finished with three steals and has 178 for his career, breaking the school record of 176 by Senario Hillman (2007-11). … LSU became the first team over the last 12 games to break the 60-point mark against Alabama. … Tide G Andrew Steele returned from a two-game absence due to an ankle injury. He finished with five points in 36 minutes.

Top Game Performances
 
Alabama   Louisiana State
Trevor Releford 36 Scoring Johnny O'Bryant III 24
Trevor Releford 3 Assists Anthony Hickey 7
Rodney Cooper 9 Rebounds Charles Carmouche 11
Trevor Lacey 4 Free Throws Made Charles Carmouche 6
Trevor Lacey 3 Steals Anthony Hickey 5
Moussa Gueye 1 Blocks Shavon Coleman 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Alabama 94 46.1 8-21 16-19 9 30 2 7 13
Louisiana State 97 47.1 8-20 25-37 19 43 4 9 16