Junior forward Shavon Coleman stepped in for injured sophomore Johnny O’Bryant III and poured in a career high 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots in his first start as a Tiger, pacing a 73-48 rout of McNeese on Tuesday.
In the absence of one potent inside scorer, coach Johnny Jones witnessed the emergence of another.
“We all talked about what we needed to do to get the job done tonight [without O’Bryant],” Coleman said. “That’s exactly what we did. We came out and got the job done.”
Firing out of the gate for 23 first-half points, Coleman had his way with the undersized Cowboys (1-1) inside, attracting double and triple teams for most of the second half – limiting him to only two points the rest of the way.
Coleman’s 23-point outburst was the most scored by a Tiger in the first half of a game since Tasmin Mitchell dropped 23 in the first half of a 2010 tilt with Auburn.
“He’s a very unselfish player,” Jones said. “He’s long, lengthy and he’s really good in terms of getting to the gaps and getting to the basket and I thought you saw that tonight.”
Sophomore Anthony Hickey chipped in nine points and six assists for the Tigers (2-0), and put his stellar defense on display, helping to force the Cowboys into 19 turnovers.
The Tigers scored 27 points off the turnovers and never trailed as their lead swelled to as much as 31 in the second half.
“We play up tight and depend on our teammates,” said senior guard Charles Carmouche. “We just want to play tough [defense] and rebound the ball.”
The Cowboys inched as close as 1 point in the first half, but the Tigers used an 8-0 and an 11-0 run to go into halftime with a 16-point lead, never looking back in the second game of Jones’ tenure.
Jones praised his team’s perimeter defense that forced the Cowboys to shoot 29 percent from the field with only one assist as a team.
“We’ve improved in not allowing straight lines to the basket,” Jones said. “I think our guards have done a much better job in terms of their on ball defense.”
Senior center Andrew Del Piero scored 7 points and grabbed four rebounds in eight minutes of action – all career highs.
Jones was able to empty his bench early in the second half, spreading the scoring among 10 different Tigers and gauging different lineups throughout the night.
“I thought those guys came in tonight very focused and on a mission,” Jones said. “I’m very pleased with the effort of our entire team.”
