coring from Maten, but the Bulldogs are too reliant for him and Frazier on offense. Nobody else averages close to double d

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Any doubt?LSU star running back Leonard Fournette had about playing against?Florida on Saturday apparently evaporated during a pregame skirmish between the Gators and some of his teammates.Fournettes gimpy left ankle prevented him from making an impact, but his No. 16 Tigers (6-4, 4-3 SEC) appreciated the gesture by their star junior who likely made his final home appearance in the 16-10 loss to the No. 23 Gators (8-2, 6-2; No. 21 AP).He, I dont think, was anticipating playing so much, fullback J.D. Moore said of Fournette, who ran 12 times for 40 yards before giving way to backup Derrius Guice for much of the second half. I think thats a testament to his character that he wanted to be out there fighting with us despite personal injury. Im all for him being out there and was glad to see him get to play in his last time in Tiger Stadium.Fournette was dressed in sweats and a baseball cap and was watching teammates warm up when the shoving match broke out following an argument between freshmen cornerbacks Chauncey Gardner (Florida) and Saivion Smith (LSU).Fournette was among the participants, twice shoving Florida defensive backs coach Torrian Gray before the groups were separated.Multiple reports had indicated that Fournette would be out vs. Florida due to soreness from a nagging left ankle injury, but LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron confirmed after the game that Fournette came to him in the locker room after the incident and asked to play.He didnt say [it was because of the fight] to me, Orgeron said. He just came to me before the game in the dressing room and said, Coach I want to play.Fournette was not made available to talk to reporters after the game.When the Tigers returned to the field, Fournette was dressed in full pads, intent on trying to play despite the preseason ankle injury that robbed him of three games this season and limited his effectiveness in several others.After the game, LSU receiver D.J. Chark said he never expected Fournette to play Saturday when the team arrived at Tiger Stadium.No, not at all, Chark said.?Leonard is a competitor and I feel like all that commotion brought out the competitive side in him and he wanted to give it all.Unfortunately, hes not healthy, but just to see that type of fight in a guy to know hes not healthy and come into the game saying, Im not going to play and still strap on his pads and go out there, you dont find too many guys like that.Guice, who lost a fumble inside the Florida 10 to halt LSUs second possession, finished with 112 total yards (83 rushing, 29 receiving) and a touchdown against Florida, but LSU certainly missed a healthy Fournette at crucial points.I thought that was the difference in the game right there -- one of the turning points in the game, Orgeron said of Guices fumble. Up 7-3, go up 14-3 with the great defense we have, we could do some things to move the football to take care of the clock. We just didnt get it done.On his final carry of the game, Fournette was unable to run through Caleb Brantleys tackle attempt at the Florida 1, falling for a 1-yard loss early in the third quarter. LSU then settled for a field goal try that failed when holder Josh Growden could not handle the snap and instead floated an incomplete pass into the end zone.LSU lost the lead on the very next play when Florida quarterback Austin Appleby completed a 98-yard touchdown pass to Tyrie Cleveland to give the Gators a 10-7 lead.Fournettes absence was most painful at the end of the game, however. Florida stuffed Moore at the 1 on the second-to-last play and then stopped a diving Guice short of the end zone to end the game as the Gators secured the SEC East title and a spot in the conference championship game against No. 1?Alabama.Even worse, Guice ran the wrong way on the play before cutting back toward the left and attempting to dive over the pile.We had a little short toss called and the back went the wrong way, although he made a good effort, Orgeron said. But it just wasnt executed right.A healthy Fournette might have made the difference there, but that has been a persistent storyline throughout the season for the Tigers. Fournettes heart and mind were willing, but his body refused to cooperate.As a result, a team that entered the season as a potential College Football Playoff contender just suffered its fourth loss of the season -- with its star watching helplessly from the sideline as a potential game-winning drive fell just short.Saturdays contest was a makeup from the originally scheduled Oct. 8 game in Gainesville, Florida, that was postponed because of Hurricane Matthew.The game was moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as part of the agreement to reschedule, which was a contentious negotiation that included multiple threats to cancel the matchup. Custom Derek Fisher Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Cheap Lakers Jerseys . 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Lakers Jerseys China .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. ATHENS, Ga. -- Coach Steve Wojciechowski challenged Jajaun Johnson at halftime to stop playing timidly and give Marquette a better effort.I got a little mad, and when I get mad I play better, Johnson said. When he got on me, it just clicked.Freshman Sam Hauser scored a career-high 19 points, Johnson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Marquette had little trouble beating Georgia 89-79 on Sunday.Markus Howard finished with 15 points as the Golden Eagles (6-2) won their fourth straight game.Yante Maten had 24 points and J.J. Frazier 20 for Georgia (5-3).During a 3-minute, 30-second stretch early in the second half, Johnson hit a 3, had three steals, a tip-in, a dunk, hit two free throws and grabbed a rebound.When he plays with the kind of effort and energy that he did at the start of the second half, he can impact the game in a lot of ways, Wojciechowski said. That was another sign of it to start the second half. He really was all over the place, which was good to see.Stegeman Coliseum, which seats 10,523, was about two-thirds full, a decent-sized crowd for a building thats rarely charged with atmosphere in December.Down by 16 with 14:27 remaining, the Bulldogs made a run to get excited the crowd with seven minutes to go, cutting the lead to two on William Jacksons 3 and two free throws.But Howard hit a 3 at the 4:29 mark put Marquette up by 13 and Georgia never threatened again.Defense, defense, Johnson said. They all came from steals. We knew they were going to make a run. We just had to stay together when it got tough.Marquette hit its first six 3s and eight of its first nine as Duane Wilson made it 25-15 with 11 minutes left in the first half to give the Golden Eagles their first double-digit lead.Georgia cut the lead to three before intermission, but coach Mark Fox called time out at the 16:43 mark of the second with the GGolden Eagles back again leading by 10.ddddddddddddHowards 3 with 15:47 remaining made Marquette 11 of 15 beyond the arc and pushed the lead to 14.Our big lineup couldnt cover them, so we played small most of the day in an effort to try to slow the 3-point shooting, which I dont think we really ever did, Fox said. We didnt do the dirty work to win.BIG PICTUREMarquette: Won despite a rare unproductive game from G Haanif Cheatham, the Golden Eagles third-leading scorer and named last season to the Big East Conferences all-freshman team. Making his 41st straight start in 41 career games, Cheatham missed six of his first eight shots (1 for 7) and picked up his fourth foul with 16:06 remaining. He finished with two points in 25 minutes.Hes played really well for us, Wojciechowski said. That happens over the course of the season. Other guys stepped up, which was great.Georgia: Had its 24th consecutive game in double-digit scoring from Maten, but the Bulldogs are too reliant for him and Frazier on offense. Nobody else averages close to double digits. Fox has yet to find a way to replace the productivity of departed seniors Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines, who combined to average 24.1 points last season.The Bulldogs are looking for other players to step up if theyre going to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season. Poor defense isnt helping either.We have some serious areas to work on, Fox said. Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann were terrific defenders. We havent replaced the defense that walked out of here with a degree. Thats disappointing to lose a game because you dont defend like we need to.UP NEXTMarquette: Host to Fresno State on Tuesday.Georgia: Host to Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 14. ' ' '