It started early, then the rout was on for LSU against Alcorn State on Thursday night.The Tigers raced out to a 21-2 lead and never looked back, holding the lead for nearly 39 minutes of its 77-45 win against Alcorn State on Friday in the PMAC.”The goal tonight was to come out and play more aggressively on defense,” said senior guard Garrett Temple. “We kept them under 50, which was the goal.”LSU limited Alcorn State to 20.6 percent from the field and 6-of-21 shooting behind the arc.”The percentages can be deceiving,” said LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson. “I don’t want to say 20 percent is not good, but our goal was at half to keep this team under 50. They did a good job of that.”LSU allowed 11 offensive rebounds in the first half while collecting only five. LSU had 17 offensive rebounds to Alcorn State’s 16 in the game but out-rebounded the Braves, 55-38.The Tigers also held a block party Thursday in the PMAC, out-blocking Alcorn State 10-1 in the first half and 16-2 for the game.The 16 blocks ties an LSU record set against Texas on Jan. 2, 1990.”It surprised me because when you block that many shots, it’s saying No. 1 that the point of attack defense is not that good,” Johnson said.Temple gave the Tigers an early spark, scoring the first five points of the game for a 5-0 LSU lead.Temple, who didn’t score any points against Jackson State, finished with seven points and two rebounds.Two Tasmin Mitchell field goals and a Bo Spencer layup later, LSU led 11-2.”We didn’t want to have too much emotion like we did in the first game,” Mitchell said. “We just relaxed and let everything come to us.”The situation got worse for Alcorn State when junior guard Alex Farrer was fouled and scored an off-balance lay-up for a 20-2 lead.Farrer hit the ensuing free throw for a 19-point cushion.After a 7-0 run by Alcorn State, senior guard Marcus Thornton scored on a break-away dunk to push the issue to 23-9.LSU led Alcorn State, 39-23, at halftime.”[Assistant] Coach Brent Scott came up to me and Tasmin Mitchell before the game and told us to put the hammer down,” Temple said.Spencer hit two-three pointers early in the second half, leading the Tigers to a 52-33 lead.Mitchell scored four-straight points, including another break-away layup for a 56-33 advantage.The score kept getting worse for Alcorn State, as LSU hit a 30-point lead with 2:22 left in the second half.Johnson heavily utilized his bench in the game, subbing as many as five players at once in the contest.Three of the seven bench players played at least 20 minutes. No LSU starter played more than 18 minutes in the game.”It depends on what’s going on, on the floor,” Johnson said of his substitution patterns. “I don’t have a first or second team. I substitute by feel.”Freshman walk-on Zach Kinsley even saw his first action of the season, finishing with four points and four rebounds.Freshman forward Storm Warren finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, picking up his first career double-double in 22 minutes of play.”[Warren] is every bit of a warrior,” Johnson said.Sophomore forward Garrett Green once again did not dress out because of a lower back injury.LSU plays Northwestern State at 2 p.m. on Sunday in its second game of the LSU Invitational.Northwestern State plays Centenary at 4 p.m. on Friday, and Alcorn State plays Troy at 1:30 p.m.Northwestern State is 2-0 on the season, coming off an 87-65 win against East Texas Baptist on Tuesday.Johnson said he expects a good challenge from Northwestern State.”It’ll be the best team we’ve played so far,” Johnson said.—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]