Coming off a momentum-building, comeback win over Wake Forest, LSU men’s basketball had a chance to carry that momentum into a game against an overmatched North Carolina Central team.
The Tigers did that by securing a win, but for much of the night, North Carolina Central gave Matt McMahon’s team just about all it could handle.
The game started off back and forth, with the eagles seemingly matching LSU at every basket. The Tigers struggled from the field early on, and it wasn’t until a late run in the second half that LSU got out to a double-digit lead before the half.
LSU’s struggles from the field came specifically from behind the three-point line. The Tigers shot just 2-12 from beyond the arc in the first half and 15-32 overall. They did find success getting to the basket, though, led by Derek Fountain who had 15 points in the first half. LSU’s 26 total points in the paint played a major factor in its 40-26 halftime lead.
In the second half, LSU came into the period with the lead, but North Carolina Central never went away. The Eagles got as close as within four points, but could never complete the comeback with LSU eventually pulling away.
LSU had another poor shooting half in the second, shooting just 2-11 from three-point range, and 11-31 overall. The Tigers were outscored 31-27 in the second half, but the defense allowed them to hang on and still grind out a 10-point win.
“Always good to celebrate winning, proud of our players finding a way to win again today. I thought we had stretches where we played very well and still continue to search for consistency, like every team in America, but I thought we had some tremendous individual efforts,” McMahon said.
Derek Fountain, KJ Williams and Cam Hayes were all major factors in the win, with the trio combining for 49 points and 33 rebounds. Outside of just scoring, their presence on the glass was huge, giving LSU a 45-31 rebounding advantage, including 15 offensive rebounds.
“I think those second opportunities were huge for us,” McMahon said of the rebounding. “You look at Derek, seven offensive rebounds, KJ three, when you see those stats, it’s not coaching, it’s not some neat technique or drill work that you do. It’s two guys who play hard and pursue the basketball and play with great passion.”
Cam Hayes made his first start of the season in the game, and was one of the few bright spots on offense scoring 14 points on 6-10 from the field. He also grabbed seven defensive rebounds, addressing an area that McMahon labeled a concern coming into the game.
“We have not been a good defensive rebounding team to this point in the season, especially on the perimeter,” McMahon said. “That’s a second straight game [in which] Cam has been terrific. He got seven rebounds tonight, five against Wake in the win on Saturday and we limited them to four offensive rebounds.”
The rebounding and second chance efforts were what in large part, allowed LSU to pull away in this game. The Tigers shot a putrid 4-23 from three-point range, but the 18 second chance points and 38 points in the paint went a long way.
This game marked the first of LSU’s three-game homestand before Christmas and conference play. The Tigers will next face Winthrop on Saturday, Dec. 17 before rounding out conference play against East Tennessee State on Dec. 21.
