The New Orleans Pelicans fell behind early and never recovered, losing 112-97 to the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of their playoff series. Now down three games to two, the Pelicans face elimination in Game 6. Brandon Ingram had a tough shooting night, finishing with a series-low 22 points, but says he’ll be ready to step up in front of the home crowd on Thursday night and hopefully send the series back to Phoenix.

Cut 19 (15) _“…defensive end.”

Game 6 tips off at the Smoothie King Center Thursday night at 6:30 pm.

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NCAA President and former LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert announced that he will be stepping down after 12 tumultuous years on the job. He will remain in his role until a new president is in place or until June of 2023.

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The NFL Draft kicks off tomorrow and for the first time in a while, there won’t be a lot of LSU Tigers taken early. One player who should hear his name called on day one is cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. While his LSU career was cut short by injury, draft expert Mike Detillier says Stingley still has everything needed to be a star at the next level.

Cut 16 (18) “…in 2019.”

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LSU baseball lost to UNO for the first time since 2017, falling 8-4 to the Privateers in New Orleans. The Tigers will look to rebound with a three-game set against 16^th-ranked Georgia at home starting on Friday. In other scores, UL-Monroe topped McNeese, 8-7, and Southern Miss routed Southeastern 9-4 for its 15^th straight win. Tonight, Louisiana Tech hits the road to take on Little Rock.

The stakes continue to get higher for the New Orleans Pelicans with tonight’s game five versus the Phoenix Suns. History says the winner of game five goes on to win the series 85 percent of the time, and a loss tonight would also mean the Pels would have to win back-to-back games against the Suns, something that hasn’t happened in this series so far, and happened only four times to Phoenix all season long.

Pelicans forward Herb Jones was assessed a flagrant foul Tuesday afternoon for pushing Chris Paul during game four in what has been a physical and emotional series. The rookie has been tasked with harassing Paul defensively and seemed to frustrate the future Hall of Famer. Pels guard CJ McCollum says Jones is the right man for the job.

Cut 17 (19) “…the length.”

Game time is 9 pm.

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LSU baseball looks for its fifth consecutive win and a season sweep of its series with UNO tonight at Privateer Park. The Tigers are 27-12 overall this season, and sit third in the SEC West standings at 10-8. It hasn’t been a smooth ride to this point, but LSU is still in position to make a late push in the conference standings. Coach Jay Johnson says his team has battled all year, and likes how they’ve handled the ups and downs.

Cut 19 (18) “…what’s next.”

You can catch the game starting at 6:30 pm on ESPN-plus.

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In other action around the state, Southeastern will try to end fourth-ranked Southern Mississippi’s school record-tying 14-game win streak in Hammond tonight. UL-Monroe visits McNeese looking for a split in their season series, and Tulane is on the road to face South Alabama.

The Pelicans look to take a 3 games to 2 lead over the Suns on the road tonight in Game 5 of their Western Conference playoff series. Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Jonas Valanciunas grab the headlines, but Pelicans rookie Herb Jones has quickly made a name for himself this postseason. Jones leads all rookies in minutes during the playoffs and has had to guard nearly every player on the Suns’ roster. McCollum says he’s never seen a rookie quite like Herb.

Cut 16 (19) “…get from him.”

Phoenix’s Devin Booker has been ruled out for Game 5. Tip-off is set for 9 pm.

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In other playoff news, the Boston Celtics finished their sweep of the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors extended their series against Philadelphia after beating the 76ers, 103-88.

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Coming off of their sweep of Missouri this past weekend, the LSU Tigers have won four in a row heading into tonight’s contest with intrastate foe UNO. Coach Jay Johnson says the Tigers are still improving, but he liked the way they handled themselves at the plate and in the field against Mizzou.

Cut 18 (18) “…keep working.”

Opening pitch is at 6:30 pm from Privateer Park on ESPN-plus.

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Southeastern hosts third-ranked Southern Miss tonight. The Golden Eagles have won 14 straight since a 4-2 loss to Louisiana Tech back on April 2^nd. McNeese welcomes UL-Monroe for the second game of their home-and-home series. The Warhawks won 4-3 at home last week.`

The Pelicans and Suns are all tied at two games apiece after New Orleans dominated the second half, outscoring Phoenix by 17 points on their way to a 118 to 103 victory. Brandon Ingram had 30 points to lead New Orleans. But the biggest story of the night was the Pels’ defense on Suns star Chris Paul, who was held to four points and turned it over three times. It got testy between C-P-3 and Pelicans rookie Jose Alvarado, who says it’s just basketball…

Cut 15 (11) “…difficult for him”

The series shifts back to Phoenix for Game 5 on Tuesday, with Game 6 in New Orleans on Thursday.

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The USFL’s New Orleans Breakers kept up the Crescent City’s dominance over Tampa Bay with a 34-3 win over the Bandits on Sunday afternoon in Birmingham to improve to 2-0. Kyle Sloter threw for two touchdowns in the win.

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After getting swept on the road at Arkansas, LSU baseball returned home this past weekend to sweep Missouri, allowing the Tigers to climb to third in the SEC West standings. Coach Jay Johnson likes the look of his line-up with freshman Josh Pearson leading off…

Cut 20 (22) “…this weekend”

LSU hosts UNO on Tuesday before welcoming 16^th-ranked Georgia this weekend.

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LSU women’s hoops has added another signee. 6-2 wing Esmery Martinez transfers to Baton Rouge after three seasons at West Virginia. Martinez posted 25 double-doubles for the Mountaineers, averaging 10 points and nine rebounds over 87 games.

Trailing by two at halftime, the eighth-seeded Pelicans outscored top-seeded Phoenix 69-52 in the second half on their way to a 118-103 victory on Sunday night to even up their opening-round series at two games each. Brandon Ingram scored a game-high 30 points, becoming the first player in franchise history to reach that mark in three straight playoff games.

Cut 13 (13) “…look good”

Ingram is the fifth leading scorer in the postseason, averaging 29.8 points per game. Game five of the series is Tuesday night with game six back in New Orleans on Thursday. Ticket prices are already skyrocketing with courtside seats going for almost $14-hundred dollars on the secondary market.

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LSU and Louisiana Tech held spring games on Saturday and both schools are undecided at starting quarterback. In Ruston, TCU transfer Matthew Downing, redshirt senior Parker McNeil and freshman Landry Lyddy are competing to be Q-B 1. Bulldogs coach Sonny Cumbie says it would be hard to name a starter right now

Cut 16 (06) “…have to do that today.”

Going into spring, many believed it was between Myles Brennan and Jayden Daniels to be the starting quarterback. But Garrett Nussmeier showed he should be considered as well as he threw for a game-high 136 yards and a touchdown. Following the spring game, Tigers Coach Brian Kelly admitted there’s less clarity on who will be the starter…

Cut 17 (17) “…on the team”

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The New Orleans Pelicans will be looking to take a two games to one lead over the Phoenix Suns in their best-of-seven opening-round playoff series tonight. Game three is typically pivotal, with the victor going on to claim the series 77 percent of the time. Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has stressed to his teammates the importance of taking care of business.

Cut 18 (15) “…of this game.”

Rebounding has been key to the Pelicans’ success, as they have beaten the Suns on the glass by 15 boards per game. Forward Trey Murphy says that’s just what they do.

Cut 21 (13) “…too different.”

Tip-off is set for 8:30 pm.

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Brian Kelly makes his unofficial debut at Tiger Stadium tomorrow when the National L Club Spring Game kicks off at 1 pm. Rather than a traditional scrimmage, it will be offense versus defense. There are plenty of plot lines to follow, from the quarterback position…where Jayden Daniels and Myles Brennan fight for the starting spot, to a new-look defense and new faces all over on both sides of the ball. The Tigers are a work in progress but fans will get their opportunity to see what the new LSU could look like this fall.

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LSU baseball continues its series with Missouri tonight at The Box. The Tigers topped Mizzou 5-3 in game one behind seven strong innings from Ma’Khail Hilliard and two home runs from Jacob Berry. Blake Money takes the mound for the opening pitch at 6:30 pm.

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Series starting tonight include Tulane hosting East Carolina, UL at Georgia State, App State visits UL-Monroe, Southeastern and McNeese tangle in Lake Charles, Northwestern State welcomes Houston Baptist, Nicholls travels to Incarnate Word…while Southern is at Texas Southern and Grambling hosts Alcorn State.

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