In a move designed to recapture the momentum left over from a near comback win Saturday against Ole Miss, LSU coach John Brady inserted sophomore gaurd Alex Farrer into the starting lineup in Wednesday’s 74-67 loss against Auburn.
The switch appeared to work early as the Tigers opened the game on a 17-2 run playing with the lineup of Farrer, freshman Anthony Randolph and junior Quintin Thornton at forward an junior Marcus Thornton and junior Garrett Temple at gaurd.
Eventually the Tigers cooled off, scoring only 15 points in the remaining 14 minutes of the half. The shooting slump allowed Auburn to mount a run of their own that narrowed LSU’s lead down to four at the half.
Farrer, said there he likes the way the team plays with the starting lineup as it was Wednesday.
“I think there’s a chemistry and a bond we have,” he said.
Farrer also noted that although that lineup may play well together in spots, the Tigers need to work on playing good basketball on a consistent basis.
“We need to put it together for long stretches,” Farrer said. “We can’t just play [well] for five or six minutes.”
Temple repeated those sentiments after the game, saying consistency on both the offensive and defensive ends is what LSU needs to focus on.
“When we score the ball, we play better defense,” he said. “But it seems like when we don’t shoot the ball well, we have a lull on defense.”
The field goal percentage numbers support Temples’ claim.
In the first half, the Tigers shot 59 percent from the field and held Auburn to 40 percent shooting. In the second half, LSU’s production dropped drastically as it connected on only 38 percent of its field goals and allowed Auburn to shoot 69 percent from the field.
“Our inconsistency of play is glaring,” Brady said. “Either in the first half or second half, who knows when it’s going to show up.”
Marcus Thornton, who led the Tigers in scoring with 27 points, was happy with the way the new starting lineup played but also expressed dissappointment with the outcome of the game.
“Farrer and Quintin played huge,” he said. “I tip my hat to them. We just have to come out and concentrate more.”
In 34 minutes of play Wednesday, Farrer totaled eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
—-Contact James Rees at [email protected]