LSU struggled with the Northwestern State full court press for much of Tuesday night’s second half and nearly surrendered a 21-point lead, but finally found its stroke from the free throw line to secure a 102-95 at the PMAC.
Sophomore guard Anthony Hickey paced the Tigers (3-0) with a career high 21 points and six assists, while junior forward Shavon Coleman carried over his momentum from last week with a 22-point performance off the bench.
“I knew coming in it would be a hard fought basketball game,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “Even with the lead, I told our guys the game was far from over.”
Returning from a strained calf, sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III showed no ill effects, chipping in 13 points and six rebounds before fouling out late in the second half.
Both Hickey and O’Bryant lamented the “tick tack” fouls called by the referees, but did not use the combined 62 fouls and 86 free throws as an excuse for almost surrendering a lead.
“Coach Jones just told us, ‘Stay focused in the game, don’t worry about the refs,’” Hickey said. “We’ve got a basketball game to win.”
Demon forwards James Hulbin and DeQuan Hicks took advantage of LSU’s foul trouble on the inside, torching the Tigers for 29 and 28 points, respectively.
Jones said his team’s shoddy defense coupled with 21 turnovers and 22 missed free throws troubled him, but he promised to rectify those mistakes.
“If we knock our free throws down, you’re talking about a 20 or 25-point basketball game,” Jones said. “We’ve been in some tough situations, but I was pleased that at the end … the experienced guys were on the floor and they were able to finish the game out the right way.”
Down by as many as six in the first half, the Tigers received a spark from seldom used 7-foot-3 center Andrew Del Piero, who logged the first first-half minutes of his career.
Del Piero scored four points and grabbed two boards to propel a 22-5 run that sent the Tigers into the locker room with a 52-38 lead.
“I was really pleased with the way [Del Piero] was able to move his feet out there,” Jones said. “They went with a small lineup, he did a great job defending and keeping the guy in front of him.”
