JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tremont Waters finished brilliantly with less than two seconds left on the clock and No. 3 seed LSU furiously held off No. 6 seed Maryland 69-67 in its East Region NCAA Tournament game on Saturday.
With the game locked at 67 apiece, Waters expertly drove by three defenders and then scooped in a banking layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to scored the game-winner and sends LSU (28-6) in the Sweet 16.
The sophomore ended with 12 points and five assists, while Skylar Mays, who knocked down four 3-pointers, including one to knot the game at 67-67 late in the second half, led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points to go with his five rebounds.
LAST TIME LSU REACHED SWEET 16
According to ESPN Stats and Information, the game-winner by Waters pilots LSU in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006 when the Tigers went to the Final Four.
In 2006 it took a Darrel Mitchell game-winning 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds for the Tigers to beat Texas A&M in the round of 32 game.
Naz Reid added 13 points and scored Darius Days 10 off the bench for LSU, which squandered a 15-point lead and almost got eliminated from the NCAA tournament.
Jalen Smith led the way for Maryland (23-11) with 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, while Anthony Cowan Jr. added 11 points and six assists and four boards in the defeat.
Aaron Wiggins contributed 11 points, Bruno Fernando registered a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds and Darryl Morsell chipped in 10 points for the Terrapins.
LSU will play either Minnesota or Michigan State in the Sweet 16 in Washington D.C. on Friday.
