The LSU men’s basketball team won the opening tip off and started off strong, but the Old Dominion Monarchs proved to be too much for the Tigers to handle and pulled out the 70-61 victory over LSU.
After LSU’s struggle from beyond the arc against Texas Tech, it started off strong against Old Dominion as LSU junior guard Keith Hornsby drained a 3 to start off scoring for the Tigers.
With his Grammy Award-winning father in the stands, Hornsby shined early in the game, scoring 7 of the Tigers’ first 13 points.
The free throw troubles that plagued LSU in the Texas Tech game bled over to the game against Old Dominion, with the Tigers making 57 percent of their free throws in the first half.
In the last ten minutes of the first half, Old Dominion turned on and began to close the gap. After trading points back and forth with LSU, Old Dominion exploded for a 12-0 run over three minutes and took a 29-28 lead with 3:38 to go in the first half.
The Monarchs kept their play strong, ending the half with a 6:45 long 16-2 run to lead the Tigers 33-30 going into the locker room.
At halftime, LSU head coach Johnny Jones said the Tigers would have to be much more careful with their fouls and need to control the runs.
“We got up 12 because of our defense,” Jones said. “We didn’t handle our foul trouble well, and we have to make sure to get our chances back.”
Along with 11 fouls, LSU had 8 turnovers and shot 57.1 percent in the first half.
The Tigers came out weak in the second half, giving up seven points in the first four minutes while missing all nine shots they took.
LSU finally picked up a point more than five minutes into the second half, with junior guard Josh Gray making one free throw of the two he shot.
Both teams exchanged baskets, but the Monarchs held on the lead throughout the majority of the second half. The Tigers tied the game at 57 with 4:17 left in the matchup, but Old Dominion’s strong rebounding and 43 percent shot percentage led them to a 70-61 victory over LSU.
Turnovers by the Tigers proved to be a key factor in Old Dominion’s victory. LSU gave up 15 turnovers, and the Monarchs capitalized by scoring 19 points off turnovers. Old Dominion’s bench had a successful night scoring 24 points, led by junior guard Keenan Palmore’s nine points.
With the loss, LSU will play the loser of the Illinois State-Weber State matchup on Saturday night at 4:00 p.m. Central time.
Illinois State is going into the game 0-1, and Weber State enters the Paradise Jam tournament 1-1.
Weber State hasn’t played outside of the continental United State since November 2010 when the Wildcats played in the Great Alaska Shootout. If the Tigers end up playing the Wildcats, they’ll have to shut down sophomore forward Kyndahl Hill and junior center Joel Bolomboy, two of Weber State’s strongest players in the 2014-15 season.
If Illinois State loses the matchup, they’ll be 0-2 and hungry for a win against LSU. Senior guard Daishon Knight led the team with 17 points in the Redbirds’ first game. Last season, he was a Missouri Valley Conference All-Conference honorable mention selection. Illinois State returns six letterwinners, including four starters from the 2013-14 season.
