The Tigers (5-3) dominated for most of the night in this Big East/SEC Invitational matchup, with their tall and athletic inside players making life miserable for the No. 25 Wildcats (6-1). LSU finished with 14 blocked shots, most of them coming while the visitors built a 54-33 lead with 8 minutes, 50 seconds to play.
But Grant made things happen after he reentered the game for good with 8:40 to play. He scored all 18 of his points in the final 6:52.
"We didn't come to play," Wright said. "That's one thing we take great pride in. This guy [Grant] just put us on his back and carried us."
Grant really got into gear after the Wildcats went down by 64-49 with 3:06 to play on Marcus Thornton's follow-up basket, which turned out to be LSU's last field goal of the game.
Grant converted a four-point play, then knocked down a three-ball on Villanova's next possession. The Tigers were losing their cool, victimized by turnovers and missed free throws.
Grant, who sank 9 of 10 free throws, got three in one trip to the line with 1:05 to play, cutting the deficit to 67-66. The Tigers worked for a good shot, but Garrett Temple missed a three-point try with 31 seconds left.
Scottie Reynolds, who had a terrible game offensively (1 of 8 from the field, 2 of 6 from the free-throw line, four points), pulled down the last of his eight rebounds and Villanova held the ball before calling a time-out with 13.1 seconds to play.
The ball found its way into the hands of Grant, who threw up a wild shot that hit heavily off the backboard. But Cunningham, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, was free to grab the rebound and put Villanova in front for the only time in the game.
