Tremont Waters seals wild finish to punch LSU’s Sweet 16 ticket

Tremont Waters got the last laugh for the LSU Tigers as he hit the game-winner against the Maryland Terrapins to cap off a wild finish.

As the LSU Tigers and Maryland Terrapins tipped off the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, it seemed as if the 3-seeded Tigers had the game in hand, leading 39-28 at halftime. Instead, the Terps turned on a zone defense that gave Tremont Waters and the Tigers fit, allowing Maryland to climb their way into the game and set up a wild finish.

The Terrapins and Tigers with under a minute left on the clock. LSU, however, was unfazed by the pressure of the March Madness moment. They looked to sweet-shooting wing Skylar Mays to try and give them the advantage late in the game.

Mays delivered the goods with a silky 3-point jumper to give them the lead:

Maryland wasn’t about to let the Tigers walk away with it, however. Coming out of a timeout, Mark Turgeon drew up a beautiful play as Anthony Cowan Jr. drew the defense to him on a drive, then kicked it to Jalen Smith in the corner. He showed off his own clutch-gene as he tied it back up:

https://twitter.com/marchmadness/status/1109521617401475072

With the game knotted at 67, it was up to an LSU offense — a team that had struggled to find buckets in the second half — to come out of the timeout and find the game-winning score. They looked for Tremont Waters to lead the way and, after getting a screen that opened up the zone, the guard got to the rim and delivered the game-winning score:

Maryland’s hail-mary heave fell short, giving LSU the victory and a berth in the Sweet 16 off of Waters’ heroics. They’ll now meet the winner of Michigan State and Minnesota in the next round.