BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — KJ Williams scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and LSU held off East Tennessee State's late surge to beat the Buccaneers 72-68 on Wednesday night.
Trae Hannibal's three-point play with 13:38 left gave the Tigers (11-1) a 51-38 lead before ETSU rallied. The Buccaneers outscored LSU 28-17 over the next 12 minutes and got within 68-66 on Josh Taylor's dunk with 1:48 remaining.
Williams and ETUS's Jordan King traded layups with King's occurring with 54 seconds left for a 70-68 LSU lead. But King missed the chance for the 1-and-1 after getting fouled.
On LSU's ensuing possession, ETSU's Taylor blocked Justice Hill's layup attempt with 25 seconds left. Out of a Bucs timeout, King missed a shot attempt with 15 seconds to go, LSU secured the rebound and Hannibal made two foul shots with seven seconds to go for the game's final points.
Derek Fountain added 11 points for LSU.
LSU remained unbeaten at home posting its eighth win of the season. The Tigers have won 12 straight at home since suffering its last loss there on Feb. 1 against Ole Miss.
Taylor scored 22 points shooting 10 for 14 for ETSU (4-9). Jalen Haynes had 14 points and King 11.
The Buccaneers start Southern Conference play on Dec. 29 with a trip to Wofford.
LSU begins SEC play on Dec. 28 when it hosts No. 10 Arkansas.
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