After a dismal first half, the LSU men’s basketball team found its rhythm and pulled away from the University of New Orleans for an 81-54 victory in the PMAC on Tuesday night.
Senior guard Andre Stringer scored 18 second-half points to fuel the Tigers (2-1) in their second straight win. LSU led by only four points at halftime, and coach Johnny Jones took a share of the blame for his team coming out flat.
“I was disappointed in our effort from the tip,” Jones said. “I didn’t think we came out focused and with the intensity level we needed tonight. UNO did an excellent job of game-planning and taking advantage of us because of the lack of aggressiveness we had early on.”
LSU struggled in the opening minutes before it claimed a 22-11 lead and threatened to pull away nine minutes into the game. But the Tigers shot a putrid 2-of-18 for the rest of the half, allowing the Privateers (1-1) to chip away and make it 32-28 at halftime.
Despite shooting only 29.4 percent in the first half, eight LSU players pitched in for a balanced scoring attack. Forwards Johnny O’Bryant III and Jordan Mickey both scored nine points while grabbing eight and six rebounds, respectively.
“Early on, we didn’t play as hard as we could,” Stringer said. “It wasn’t our normal identity, and they came in with a game plan and played hard. They rebounded the basketball and made the hustle plays, and we didn’t do those things tonight.”
The Tigers struck quickly out of the locker room, racking up 15 points in the first three minutes to stretch the lead to 10. Stringer scored 11 points and knocked down a trio of 3-pointers to spark the LSU run.
The Tigers cooled off after Stringer went to the bench, and the Privateers stayed within striking distance for most of the second half. But Stringer provided the dagger with six minutes left on another 3-pointer, and LSU closed the game on a 28-11 scoring run.
“Coach always says get the ball inside because our higher percentage shots are inside,” Stringer said. “We had to go to Johnny [O’Bryant] and Mickey to let those guys dictate our game and get it back out to our guards.”
The Tigers forced 19 turnovers while holding the Privateers to a 31.3 percent shooting clip. LSU dominated the glass, out-rebounding New Orleans 56-38 while picking up 21 offensive boards.
Mickey finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, making him the first player to start a season with three double-doubles since Storm Warren did so in 2009. The freshman added three blocks to increase his season total to 14.

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Mariel Gates

LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) shoots a goal on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013 during the Tigers' 81-74 victory against University of New Orleans in the PMAC.