LSU LSU/Arizona Arizona Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Maybe it was the video clips coach Lute Olson showed them of top-ranked Duke's defense and second-ranked Michigan State's rebounding. Whatever the reason, the Wildcats (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) shook off a sluggish start and beat previously unbeaten LSU 88-75 Wednesday night.

Arizona (6-3) outscored the Tigers 44-28 in the second half.

"This is a coming out game for a lot of us," point guard Jason Gardner said. "I think you will see a different team now."

Olson benched Gilbert Arenas and Loren Woods at the start of the game because he didn't like their effort in practice. Both played big roles in the second-half surge.

Arenas scored the first 10 points during a decisive 17-2 run. He scored 16 of his season-high 24 points in the second half after going 2-for-12 in Arizona's loss to Illinois last Saturday.

"Gilbert is a scorer," Woods said. "He is one of the best scorers in the nation. His confidence was shaken after the last game. He definitely was big for us tonight."

The Wildcats avenged an 86-60 loss at LSU last season, the worst defeat in Olson's 18 seasons at Arizona.

"I was really pleased with our defensive effort in the second half," Olson said. "We contested every pass. We didn't give them everything. I told them at halftime that you can't let shooters shoot. You make shooters drive."

Five players hit double figures for the Wildcats. Woods scored 17, Gardner 16, Michael Wright 13 and Richard Jefferson 12.

Torris Bright was 5-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 17 in the first half for LSU (6-1). He took only one shot, and made it, in the second to finish with 20.

Ronald Dupree scored 21 and Brian Beshara 13 and Jermaine Williams 10 for the Tigers, who shot 57 percent in the first half (16-for-28) and 32 percent (8-for-25) in the second. Arizona shot 58 percent in the second half (18-for-31), including six of eight 3-pointers.

LSU was 8-for-11 from 3-point range in the first half, but 0-for-6 in the second.

"Without much depth, they just ran out of gas," Olson said.

LSU coach John Brady praised his team's effort, but said the lack of depth was a problem.

"They were more fresh down the stretch," Brady said, "and that shows up in the rebounding stats. We got tired and we had foul problems."

Arizona, which had lost two nonconference games in a row for the first time in 11 years, trailed nearly the entire first half and was down 47-44 at the break. LSU scored the first four points of the second half to lead 51-44.

LSU led 56-51 on Jermaine Williams' layup with 12:43 to play, then Arenas took over. He sank an 8-footer from the lane, then tied it at 56-56 with a 3-pointer with 11:47 to go.

Lamont Roland's layup gave LSU its last lead, 58-56, with 11:26 to go.

Arenas tied it again with a length-of-the-court drive, then put the Wildcats up for good with another 3-pointer. Gardner capped the run with a 3-pointer to make it 68-56 with nine minutes remaining, and LSU never came closer than seven points again.

"They made some huge runs and we thought we could counter," Dupree said, "but they just kept on running, making their shots, hitting 3's."

Jefferson's 3-pointer punctuated an 11-1 run that made it 86-70 with 3:26 to go.

The Tigers shot out to a 22-15 lead on Bright's fourth 3-pointer with 11:09 to play. Arizona used a 10-2 run to take a 33-32 on Wright's inside basket with 4:50 left in the half.

But consecutive slam dunks by Dupree put LSU back in charge. Dupree was fouled by Wright on the second slam, and the three-point play put the Tigers up 37-33 with 3:56 left in the half.

Bright's five 3-pointers matched his career high.

ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

LSU Clubhouse

Arizona Clubhouse