LSU junior forward Tasmin Mitchell did not have the greatest statistical night of his career Wednesday against McNeese State, but the savvy veteran’s game came alive when the Tigers (2-0) needed it the most. Mitchell, who played 36 minutes, scored six of his 16 points in the final 2:41 of the game to lead the Tigers past the Cowboys, 78-74. Unlike the season opener against Southeastern Louisiana and the Tigers’ final exhibition contest against EA Sports, Mitchell avoided foul trouble against McNeese State and finished with 14 rebounds and four steals. Mitchell’s importance was increased even more by the absence of senior guard Dameon Mason, who missed the game with a viral infection and may not be with the team Monday when they begin the Maui Invitational Tournament. “With Mason not there, [Mitchell’s] role becomes more valuable,” said LSU coach John Brady. “I can’t take him off the floor. He made a few mistakes defensively out there, but he got 14 rebounds. And he dug in at the end. He got tired playing that amount of minutes. It means a lot to have him out there.” The Tigers started slowly for the second game in a row and held an 11-9 lead going into the second media time-out with 11:43 left in the first half. McNeese State grabbed its first lead of the game after a jumper by senior center Kleon Penn made the score 16-15. The two teams entered halftime tied at 32. LSU garnered its largest lead of the game after a 13-4 run that gave the Tigers a 52-39 advantage. The lead changed hands six more times before the final buzzer sounded. Brady said the team’s performance in practice has not translated into on-the-court production in the first two games. “They don’t get into the game what they show me in practice,” he said. “I’m convinced, and I may be wrong, that this is a good shooting team. We haven’t really shot the ball [well] at all. I’ve geared ourselves to be a team that can make a few open shots, but we haven’t made them.” LSU shot 48 percent from the field. McNeese State shot 45 percent. The Tigers were only 3-of-18 from 3-point range, while the Cowboys knocked down 12 of their 23 shots from behind the arc. “[Shots] are going to come,” said junior guard Marcus Thornton. “We missed a couple shots, but we’re not too much worried about that. Once guys get in a rhythm, we’ll start knocking them down.” Thornton hit two of LSU’s 3-point baskets and led the team in scoring for the second straight game with 24 points. Brady said missing wide open shots and having defensive lapses could drastically hurt the Tigers’ chances in the Maui Invitational. “You can’t not execute; you can’t be a step late; you can’t say, ‘Oh, I should go here,'” he said. “It’s too late. You’ll get by with it in a couple of games here early, but you can’t get by with it next week on that island.” Freshman forward Anthony Randolph added 12 points and seven rebounds, and junior guard Garrett Temple scored his first points of the season Wednesday and finished with nine points. LSU outrebounded McNeese State, 38-31, and hit 17 more free throws than the Cowboys. Senior guard John Ford led McNeese State with 21 points, and sophomore guard Diego Kapelan added all 15 of his points on five 3-pointers.
The LSU Athletic Department announced Wednesday that LSU’s game against Southern – originally scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 1 – has been changed to Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in the PMAC. The change was made to avoid a conflict with the football team’s appearance in the Southeastern Conference Championship game, scheduled for 3 p.m. on Dec. 1.
—Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]