Canete's basket gives Stephen F. Austin 83-82 win over LSU (Dec 16, 2017)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Ivan Canete's layup with five seconds remaining lifted Stephen F. Austin to an 83-82 victory against LSU on Saturday.

Canete, who scored a season-high 20 points, made his game-winner after Tremont Waters put the Tigers (6-3) ahead with a 3-pointer with 18 seconds to play. LSU had an opportunity to win the game, but Aaron Epps missed a driving lay-in at the buzzer.

Canete, who was 8-of-11 from the field and made four 3-pointers, scored the last seven points for the Lumberjacks (10-1). A field goal by Canete put Stephen F. Austin ahead 78-77 with 1:32 left in the game. Then, a 3-pointer by Canete gave the Lumberjacks an 81-79 lead with 30 seconds remaining.

''The first layup came off a play we had drawn up,'' Canete said. ''I got hit on the hand on the 3-pointer, but I knew it was still going in. We just got lucky on the last play. It was a scramble play and I just happened to be wide open.

''As a senior, I wanted to lead the team. I knew I had to step up after Kevon (Harris) got hurt. It was a group effort. This was a big-time win for us. It was the first time we have beaten a SEC team in a long time.''

The Lumberjacks defeated an SEC team for the first time since 1970 as they extended their winning streak to six games.

Kevon Harris had 11 points and Shannon Bogues had 10 points for Stephen F. Austin. Canete's game-winning basket represented the 18th lead change of the game. The score was tied 15 times.

''We made one more play than they did at the end,'' Stephen F. Austin coach Kyle Keller said. ''We played really well offensively. They made our defense look terrible, but our kids played better defensively in the second half. We just happened to make a couple of plays. We're just really fortunate.''

Waters was the leading scorer for LSU with 19 points. Epps had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Skylar Mays had 17 points, while Daryl Edwards had 10 points.

''It was certainly a disappointing result,'' LSU coach Will Wade said. ''We got what we deserved. They were tougher than us. We turned the ball over 17 times and they outrebounded us. You can't get a better look (at the end). We got a layup, but we lost the game well before the last play.''

BIG PICTURE

LSU: The Tigers just couldn't make the shot it needed at the buzzer as they lost for the first time in six home games this season.

Stephen F. Austin: With its three leading scorers lagging, other Lumberjacks picked up the slack. Stephen F. Austin's top three scorers - Kevon Harris, TJ Holyfield and Shannon Bogues - totaled 20 points less than their combined per-game averages. Harris, who did not play in the second half after going into concussion protocol, had 11 points. He was averaging 17.5 points per game. Holyfield, who was scoring 16 points per game, fouled out with nine points. Bogues, who was averaging 16 points per game, had 10. Ivan Canete stepped up to score 20 points. Samuli Nieminem, who was averaging three points a game, had eight. Ty Charles scored nine points - five more than his per-game average. Aaron Augustin, who was averaging six points, scored eight.

TOO MANY TURNOVERS

Stephen F. Austin leads the nation in turnovers forced with 23.6 per game and steals with 13.2 per game. LSU made 17 turnovers, 10 the result of Lumberjacks steals. Those turnovers cost the Tigers too many possessions. LSU starting guards Tremont Waters and Skylar Mays committed five and four turnovers, respectively. Waters and Mays were averaging a combined six turnovers per game prior to Saturday.

UP NEXT

LSU will play its fifth straight home game when it faces Sam Houston State on Tuesday.

Stephen F. Austin will meet its second consecutive Southeastern Conference opponent when it plays at Missouri on Tuesday.