A highlight reel reverse dunk was scant consolation for Ben Simmons as the Australian star's Louisiana State team went desperately close to toppling top-ranked US college side Oklahoma State.
The visiting Sooners blocked a layup by LSU's Tim Quarterman at the buzzer to escape with a heart-stopping 77-75 victory in Baton Rouge on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT).
The match was touted as a showdown between likely NBA No.1 draft pick Simmons and Oklahoma's brilliant shooting guard Buddy Hield, a 22-year-old from the Bahamas who is favoured to win college player of the year.
Hield came out on top, finishing with a game-high 32 points, including seven of 10 three-pointers, and scored 21 of his team's last 31 points as Oklahoma rallied from a 14-point deficit.
The 19-year-old Simmons had 14 points, making six of seven shots from the field, while also pulling in nine rebounds and five assists as he showcased his allround skills.
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And he brought his home crowd to its feet when he drove from the sideline under the hoop before slamming down a reverse dunk.
But, with Simmons an obvious focus, LSU shared the workload well as they went about putting a scare through Oklahoma to advanced to an 18-2 season record.
They had four players in double digit scoring as Quarterman led with 18 points and Craig Victor added 15.
The loss took LSU's season record to 13-8.
Their next game is against Auburn on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
