LSU steals one from State, 69-68

The Tigers rescued victory from the jaws of defeat in Starkville when Anthony Hickey hit a floater with less than two seconds left. In the process LSU won for the third time in four games and improved to 3-5 in the SEC.

Mississippi State has likely seen enough of Anthony Hickey.

For the second time in two years, the sophomore from Hopkinsville, Ky., hit a floater on a last-ditch coast-to-coast drive to sink the Bulldogs.

A year ago he did it in Baton Rouge to secure a big conference win for Trent Johnson. On Saturday Hickey gave first-year coach Johnny Jones his first road win in the SEC and the Tigers their third win in four contests.

LSU (12-7, 3-5) pulled the win out 69-68 despite shooting 39% from the floor and hitting only 4-of-25 threes. The Tigers also erased a six-point deficit with less than two minutes to play without Johnny O'Bryant and Shavon Coleman, both of whom fouled out.

O'Bryant notched his fifth straight double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Coleman turned the trick as well, posting 11 points and 10 boards.

Hickey finished with 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting, but most of his damage came late.

Mississippi State (7-13, 2-6) couldn't get out of its way in the waning moments - missing free throws (the Bulldogs finished 13-of-27 from the stripe), garnering a five-second call and setting a moving screen during crunch time.

The self-sabotage negated 49% shooting from the field for the home-standing Bulldogs.

LSU is back in action Wednesday night at home versus Vanderbilt.