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Davis helps LSU hold off Oregon State

Dec 18, 2006 - 4:10 AM CORVALLIS, Oregon (Ticker) -- The lethal outside shooting by Oregon State couldn't offset the rugged inside play of Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

Davis finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds and teamed with Garrett Temple to spark a decisive run as No. 15 Louisiana State jumped out early in the second half and held off a 3-point attack by Oregon State for a 60-53 triumph.

Temple scored 17 points and Tasmin Mitchell added 11 for the Tigers (6-2), who bounced back from a 76-75 overtime loss to Texas last Saturday.

"Anytime you go on the road and win, it's a good thing," LSU coach John Brady said. "You know as well as I know that you will have to play better in some situations to beat some of these other teams we are going to play. We did enough to win the game tonight, and that's a good thing, but we certainly need to play better."

The Tigers shot just 40 percent (21-of-52), made only 11-of-19 free throws and forced just 12 turnovers.

"You have to credit Oregon State. They changed defenses on us," Brady said. "They went man, they played zone, and they changed the pace of their zone a bit. Those are things we have to get better at adjusting to.

Davis made 9-of-14 field goals but the rest of the club shot a combined 12-of-38.

"We struggled a little bit from the perimeter, but we did enough good things to win the game. Thank goodness Glen Davis came back and helped us win that game tonight.

With the game tied, 20-20, late in the first half, LSU scored the final five points of the half and increased the lead to 44-28 with 11:26 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Ben Voogd.

"We always expect each team's best shot just because we have been to the Final Four," Davis said. "We have notoriety and it could be my fault. We have to do a better job preparing for teams."

Temple started the spurt with a layup and Davis followed with a 3-pointer to close out the first half.

"(At halftime) coach really got up in us. He said we weren't playing our best. We were playing good defense. Twenty points is good, but we should have been up by more. He does a great job of making adjustments and getting us ready to go play hard."

After the break, Temple knocked down a shot from the arc and added two free throws and another 3-pointer later in the spurt. Davis scored on a layup and a short jumper.

The Beavers (6-5) fought back with some lethal shooting from the arc. Jack McGillis and Sasa Cuic hit a pair of 3-pointers and Josh Tarver added another, and Oregon State moved within, 53-50, with 2:40 left on a three-point play by Tarver.

Their bubble burst, however, after Kyle Jeffers missed two free throws with 2:06 left and the Tigers' Tack Miner immediately drained a 3-pointer - his only basket of the game - from the left wing. Davis outmuscled Jeffers for a rebound and scored for a 58-50 edge with 57 seconds to play.

"I felt like we should have won this game, and I know a lot of guys in the locker felt like we could have won this game," said Marcel Jones, who scored 12 points on four 3-pointers. "But they're a great team and at the end they made the plays to win."

Oregon State shot just 32 percent (19-of-58) from the floor, but made 11-of-22 shots from the arc, including 8-of-12 after intermission. The Beavers shot just 22 percent (8-of-36) on two-point attempts.

"We really got hyped up for this game," Cuic said. "The coaching staff did a great job preparing us for the game. We watched tons of film and ran all their plays for days and days. By yesterday we knew their plays as well as they do.

"We just have to take it as another step in the learning process and get ready for another ranked team that comes here on December 30th, and that's Oregon."

Tarver scored 13 points and Marcel Jones added 12 - all on 3-pointers for the Beavers.