College basketball

LSU free throws bury Gators

The Tigers take advantage of an extra 19 trips to the line to earn a four-point win.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Brandon Bass scored 10 of his 27 points from the free throw line as LSU beat Florida 77-73 Saturday afternoon.

LSU scored 18 of their last 23 points from the charity stripe and made 29 of 34 free throws for the game.

Florida has now lost three straight to LSU after a six-game winning streak.

With the win, the Tigers stretched their home record to 12-1 on the season.

Antonio Hudson scored 16 points for LSU, Darrel Mitchell added 15 and Glen Davis had 11.

David Lee led Florida with 21 points. Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh each had 17.

Florida coach Billy Donovan said the free throws were the deciding factor.

"I think the game was very clear cut - 34 free throws to 15," Donovan said. "The fact that we remained as close as we did and gave ourselves a chance to win with such a disparaging margin at the free throw line was incredible."

The Gators made 12 of 15 free throws.

LSU led 38-32 at halftime.

Florida opened the second half with a 9-2 run to take a 41-40 lead with 16:42 left. The Tigers countered, going 10-3 over the next two minutes. The run put them up 50-45.

The Gators cut LSU's lead to 52-51 with 10:17 left on a dunk by Adrian Moss. It was the closest Florida would get.

Hudson's 3-pointer with 4:33 left gave LSU a 65-55 lead. The Tigers made the other eight points at the free throw line.

"I'm anxious to see the film and see how a guy like David Lee gets 14 shots, 21 points and he gets to the foul line three times and a guy like Brandon Bass gets to the line 13 times," Donovan said.

The reason for the discrepancy was easy to see, Mitchell said.

"I just think we were playing good defense out there and not fouling," Mitchell said. "Under the goal they were pushing and fouling."

Walsh pulled Florida within two, 67-65, with 2:38 left. After a basket by Hudson, Roberson sank two free throws to make it 69-67 LSU.

LSU, which made its final field goal at 2:04 - a jumper by Hudson - made 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. Mitchell hit the final two with just over a second remaining.

[Last modified February 20, 2005, 00:54:14]