When Shareef O’Neal made a layup to put LSU ahead by 7 on No. 10 Texas Tech with 1:06 remaining on Saturday, it looked for all the world that the Red Raiders were done. Texas Tech had fallen victim to a seemingly decisive 8-0 run in the final minutes of a marquee SEC/Big 12 Challenge game on Saturday. But that’s when Mac McClung and Terrence Shannon Jr. came alive to lead the Red Raiders on a 12-0 scoring run in the 59 seconds for an improbable 76-71 victory.
McClung hit a pair of 3-pointers and forced a game-changing turnover that led to Shannon’s go-ahead bucket with 23 seconds left. From there, Shannon iced the game at the free-throw line to secure a heart-stopping win for the Red Raiders (12-5) that doubled as a backbreaking home loss for the Tigers (11-5).
Shannon and McClung combined for 45 points, with 21 of Shannon’s team-high 23 coming in the second half. McClung scored 14 in the first half but went scoreless for more than 18 minutes in the second before making his clutch 3-pointers during the frantic flurry of the final minute.
Javonte Smart led LSU with 29 points and extended LSU’s lead to 66-60 with 3:35 left on a 3-pointer that raised his second-half scoring tally to 17 points. But the Tigers were outscored 16-5 from then as they played without key forward Darius Days, who left the game with 10:57 after appearing to suffer an ankle injury. Star freshman Cameron Thomas contributed 25 points for LSU, while Days finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.