LSU basketball loses to Alabama and loses top rebounder Darius Days to injury

LSU lost a game and one of its key starters on the same night. But it did not lose its pride.

With leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer Darius Days unavailable throughout the second half, LSU basketball lost 70-67 to Alabama on Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

No. 16 LSU (15-3, 3-3 SEC), coming off Saturday's 65-58 home loss to Arkansas, fell for the second straight time and the third in its last six outings. Alabama (11-7, 2-4), coming off losses at Mississippi State, to Auburn and Missouri, snapped its three-game losing streak.

LSU got a career-high 26 points off the bench from Cincinnati transfer Tari Eason and 19 from Brandon Murray, but with Days out and center Efton Reid in foul trouble the Tigers couldn't hang late.

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Murray made a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to cut the Alabama lead to 68-67, but Keon Ellis made two free throws on the other end and Eric Gaines missed a 3-pointer that would have forced overtime.

"Look, I'm really proud of our guys. We've obviously got to clean up the (20) turnovers and the defensive rebounding," LSU coach Will Wade said, "but to come in here and battle like this – when we're at full strength and get everybody back healthy, it will be tough on opponents.

"To fight like that and play like that under the circumstances we had tonight, (I'm) very, very impressed. We've got the right stuff. ... That was some real stuff tonight. Some real good stuff."

Eason, though, left less than satisfied.

"I don't like losing," he said. "Nobody on the team likes losing, so we're not happy by any means.

"But what I do love about this team is our resilience. The fact we came together. ... Once we get some other things cleaned up and we have all our guys, we're gonna be a machine."

Down by 13 after a technical on Wade and four Jaden Shackleford free throws made it 57-44 with 6:43 left, LSU tied it at 58 when Eason hit the second of two free throws with 4:47 remaining.

But Alabama, which played much of the game without forward Juwan Gary, who caught an elbow to the face from Eason. answered 16 seconds later with a Shackelford layup and led the rest of the way.

Alabama led 33-32 at halftime, but Eason hit a 3-pointer and the free throw that followed with 0.6 seconds left before the break to make it a one-point game.

But the half was costly for LSU.

Days, who was averaging 7.6 rebounds and 14 points per game going into the night, sprained an ankle after coming down on Ellis' foot late in the half. Days had five points and two rebounds in 12 minutes prior to the injury. He didn't return.

"It doesn't appear to be terrible," Wade said, "but we'll know more when we get back."

LSU also was playing its third straight game without usual starting point guard Xavier Pinson (sprained knee). Gaines again started in his place.

"Look, guys, we're Duck Taped together right now. ... But we're fighting like (expletive)," Wade said. "We've got guys stepping up. Look, we're fighting. That's all you can do. We're gonna be so much better off from all this when we have everybody back.

"It stinks right now. It's growing pains right now. But when we're back at full health, it will be a tough, tough out."

LSU visits No. 25 Tennessee on Saturday (5 p.m., ESPN) for its final outing in a stretch with three of four on the road.

"We're going to get guys as healthy as we can," Wade said. "However many guys we've got, we'll go to Knoxville and fight our (expletive) off again on Saturday."

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU basketball loses game Alabama top rebounder Darius Days injury