LSU shrugged off a dismal 0-for-6 start from the field to shoot 69 percent in the second half en route to a 75-50 win against Mississippi Valley State in the PMAC.
The Tigers (4-0) are off to their best start since 2008 under new coach Johnny Jones, who was pleased with his team’s resiliency after such a poor start.
“I thought as the game progressed our team settled down and played better,” Jones said. “I liked the guys who came in and settled us down.”
Junior forward Shavon Coleman was the Tigers’ leading scorer for the third straight contest, coming off the bench for a double-double, pouring in 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Playing a career-high 15 minutes, senior center Andrew Del Piero chipped in eight points, while playing stingy defense on the Delta Devils’ 6-foot-11 center Julius Francis.
“I have to guard [sophomore forward] Johnny [O’Bryant III] every day, so I get good practice,” Del Piero said. “We work a lot on footwork every day so I just use what feels natural to me.”
Both teams started the contest sloppily, combining to shoot 0-for-7 from the field with six turnovers before the first official timeout.
Junior guard Andre Stringer then found his groove late in the first half, along with Coleman, to get the Tigers into the locker room with a 33-23 lead.
“We don’t really think too much about missing shots,” Stringer said. “We just take them.”
Freshman forward Shane Hammink, making his first career start, chipped in 12 points, culminating with two three pointers late in the game to stretch the Tiger lead to 30 – the largest of the night.
Jones said he likes to alternate Hammink and fellow freshman Malik Morgan in the starting five, giving the Tigers more dynamic offensive schemes.
“I wanted to give Shane a look out there as a starter and I thought he responded extremely well,” Jones said.
