EditorsNote: 6th graf, change play by play;
Six LSU players scored in double figures and the Tigers remained unbeaten in SEC play with an 84-82 victory over visiting Florida in Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday night.
Emmitt Williams scored 19 points, Skylar Mays added 18, Trendon Watford had 14, Javonte Smart totaled 13, Darius Days scored 10, and Marlon Taylor contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
The Tigers improved to 14-4 overall and 6-0 in conference in winning their seventh consecutive game. They made just 2 of 14 3-pointers but made 24 of 31 free throws.
Keyontae Johnson and Noah Locke scored 16 points each, Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and 10 assists, and Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 15 points to lead the Gators (12-6, 4-2).
Locke's 3-pointer started the second-half scoring and gave Florida a five-point lead. LSU then went on an 8-2 run, Days' layup for his first basket of the game giving LSU a 42-41 lead with 14:33 to play.
Williams scored five points and Mays tallied four over the next three minutes as the Tigers increased their lead to 55-49. Days' layup increased the lead to 61-52 midway through the half.
Blackshear responded and made two free throws to pull the Gators within 63-59 with 7:01 remaining. Taylor then answered with three free throws and LSU increased its lead to 73-62 on Days' layup with 3:24 left.
Florida got within eight points twice before Watford's dunk gave the Tigers a 79-69 lead with 1:20 left. The Gators chipped away and pulled within one point on Johnson's 3-pointer with 31 seconds left.
But Mays made three free throws for a four-point lead, and Blackshear made a layup at the buzzer for the game's final margin.
Blackshear made two 3-pointers and Payne converted a three-point play as the Gators took an early 13-8 lead.
The Tigers pulled within one point twice before Florida made three straight baskets to increase its lead to 22-15 with 10:28 left in the first half.
The lead grew to eight before Taylor scored the final five points of a 9-0 run that gave LSU a 26-25 lead.
The Gators led by four on two occasions after that before the Tigers forged two ties. Scottie Lewis' jumper with three seconds remaining gave Florida a 36-34 halftime lead.
--Field Level Media
