Rhode Island 74, Louisiana State 70: Freshman guard E.C. Matthews matched his season high with 21 points and contributed nine rebounds as the visiting Rams stunned the Tigers.

Gilvydas Biruta, a junior transfer from Rutgers, added season highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds for Rhode Island (9-6). Xavier Munford scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half for the Rams, who overcame 22 turnovers.

LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey scored 21 points and Andre Stringer added 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals. Johnny O’Bryant III contributed 11 points, and Jarell Martin and Anthony Hickey added eight points apiece for the Tigers (9-3).

The Tigers trailed by six at the half and went nearly four minutes without a field goal to start the second half, allowing Rhode Island to stretch its lead to 12. The Rams got sloppy, committing four turnovers in a little more than a minute, and LSU used a 10-0 burst to go up by three with a little over 9 1/2 minutes left.

Munford ended the run with a 3-pointer and the score was tied at 59 when Rhode Island unleashed a 8-0 run to move ahead 67-59 with just under five minutes left. The Tigers trimmed the deficit back to one with 1:24 to go, but missed two chances to take the lead before Matthews sealed the win with two free throws with two seconds left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: LSU came into the game 10th in the nation in rebounds (43.3) and with a plus-seven rebounding average but lost the battle of the boards 46-32. … Mickey and O’Bryant III, who combined to average 16 rebounds coming into the game, had none in the first half before combining for seven. … Rhode Island, which beat Auburn in double overtime last season, is 6-11 all-time against the SEC.