After traveling home for Christmas following its most complete game of the season against UAB, LSU hoped it could avoid the lackadaisical effort that sometimes comes with a week off between games.
Peppered with questions all week about the effort that plagued their team in a 61-54 win against ULM after the final exam break, Tiger players vowed Saturday’s contest against McNeese State would be devoid of any lethargy.
It didn’t seem the Tigers (9-2) lived up to their promise early on as the downtrodden Cowboys (2-10) used a 1-3-1 zone defense to open an early seven point lead behind three Tiger turnovers in the first four minutes — leading to eight Cowboy points.
But a 19-4 run to end the first half and four players in double figures pushed the Tigers to a 79-52 win Saturday night in the PMAC.
Tiger forwards Shavon Coleman and Johnny O’Bryant III paced the LSU offense with 16 points apiece, while freshman forward Jarell Martin recorded his first collegiate double-double.
“We started making easy passes and getting the ball to the rim, getting fouled and making some free throws,” O’Bryant said. “We had to search for our shots and find the right ones.”
With McNeese leading 14-8 seven minutes into the game, Coleman rattled off six consecutive Tiger points, the last two off a steal from sophomore guard Malik Morgan.
After the Cowboys reclaimed the lead at 17-16, junior guard Anthony Hickey buried a 3-pointer for his first bucket of the game, giving LSU a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“I thought the last eight minutes through pressure we caused some turnovers and forced them to play a little faster,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “We sped them up a little bit. I thought we finished the half the right way.”
O’Bryant ignited the 19-4 run with a driving baseline dunk followed by an offensive rebound and putback as the game headed to the final media timeout of the first half.
Four free throws from freshman forward Jordan Mickey were sandwiched around a baseline jumper from Martin to give the Tigers their first double digit lead of the game with just under two minutes remaining before halftime.
To close the half, Morgan poked the ball away from McNeese guard Craig McFerrin, setting up the final possession for LSU.
Hickey held the ball at the top of the key before driving and dishing to Martin, who buried a 3-pointer from the wing to send the Tigers to the locker room with a 42-25 lead.
“We were just hustling all over the floor,” O’Bryant said. “Trying to fight and not keep the game so close.”
Hickey passed Jones for eleventh on the school’s all-time assist list when he hit Martin for the three.
After another slow start to the second half, the LSU frontcourt began to flex its muscles inside, creating open perimeter shots off of double teams.
Coleman was the beneficiary, knocking down two 3-pointers in the midst of a 16-0 second half run that saw the Tiger lead swell to 34.
“We went inside-outside like we always do and we hit shots,” Coleman said. “Once we got going we turnt it up a lot.”
Jones acknowledged the slow start he hoped to avoid, but attributed it more to McNeese’s gameplan and not his players’ effort.
“We have to really credit them for how they played,” Jones said. “We still have to make sure on the offensive end … that we come back and execute at a high level.”