The LSU men’s basketball team survived a second-half scare with a 79-63 win against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday to finish pre-Southeastern Conference play with a 9-2 record.
The Tigers dominated the first stretch of the game, extending their lead to 21 points with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. But the Wildcats (5-10) fought back with a full-court press to cut the LSU lead to 38-30 at halftime.
“We got a little careless, and they got their hands on the ball a few times,” said junior guard Andre Stringer. “They started pressing, and we got loose with the ball.”
The final score betrayed the back-and-forth nature of the second half, as LSU’s lead fluctuated between 10 and 13 points for most of the period. However, the Tigers went on a 10-2 run in the final 1:43 to secure their 16-point victory.
“I thought we were able to finish the game off the way that we needed to,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “Getting steals, making big plays down the stretch, and knocking down our free throws were important to us.”
Senior guard Charles Carmouche led the Tigers with 17 points, while sophomore guard Anthony Hickey and junior forward Shavon Coleman followed up with 14 apiece. Coleman sank all eight of his free throws and grabbed 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
Senior center Andrew Del Piero reached a new career high 10 points, with his emphatic block and transition dunks serving as crowd-pleasers.
“When [Del Piero] has gotten in one-on-one situations inside, he has been able to score,” Jones said. “He’s definitely a main part of our rotation. I think scouting reports and teams we play will probably dictate [his play] sometimes, but we think he’s very capable of playing in the post in this league.”
Sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III played sparingly, tallying two points in five minutes of action. O’Bryant did not play in the Tigers’ previous game against Houston Baptist with a leg injury, and Jones said he thinks O’Bryant needs a few games to get back up to speed.
Jones, who spent 13 years prior as an assistant coach at LSU, said he knows that his team will be facing stiffer competition in SEC play.
“It’s great being 9-2, but everything changes,” Jones said. “I don’t care what league you’re in, any time you play [in] conference play, people are playing with a little bit more of an edge. …Every night is going to be a dogfight.”
Jones and his players acknowledged there is still room for growth and that they still have a chip on their shoulder.
“We are going to keep proving people wrong and keep playing hard,” Carmouche said. “We are going to start this Johnny Jones era off the right way.”
Saturday’s matchup marked the 25th anniversary of “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s death. Jones recalled Maravich speaking to an LSU team he coached before a game against Oklahoma and the impact his life story had on the players.
“[Maravich was] a special guy, a special person, and I think to this day maybe the greatest basketball player to have ever walked on this ground,” Jones said. “You talk about 44.4 points a game in three years. …He was the real magic out there in basketball.”
LSU will open up conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 9 against the Auburn Tigers.
