LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson warned players and media alike about this game. It was the classic trap game for the young but talented Tigers playing in only their second contest of the season. Fortunately for them, they listened. LSU heeded Johnson’s advice in a rusty, yet gutsy effort and defeated Indiana State, 56-45, Monday in the PMAC. The game was LSU’s opening contest of the NIT Preseason Tip-Off. The victory moves LSU on to face Western Kentucky tomorrow at 7 p.m. If LSU beats the Hilltoppers, the Tigers will travel to New York City to play in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden. The Sycamores seemed to have the upper hand early. LSU was held scoreless for the first six minutes of the contest by stifling defense from Indiana State. The Tigers finally managed a lead with about eight minutes left in the first half, but could not distance themselves. “We found a way,” Johnson said. “It was not pretty.”LSU started to establish the fast break after trying to deal with the stingy Sycamore defense in the halfcourt. The Tigers made emphatic statements on consecutive possessions, with junior guard Bo Spencer finding redshirt freshman forward Dennis Harris on a perfectly placed lob pass to seal a highlight reel alley-oop. Sycamore guard Dwayne Lathan bricked a jump shot on the next possession, and LSU was off to the races once again. This time, it was Spencer’s turn. The junior nearly went coast to coast, pushing through a foul to put in an up-and-under layup. Indiana State didn’t go away, though. The Sycamores proved a worthy opponent, as Johnson had predicted earlier in the week. LSU entered the locker room at halftime with a 24-19 lead.The second half proved to be much of the same. LSU’s largest lead came with 7:20 left in the game — the score 44-31. The Sycamores closed the gap to 46-40 with just more than four minutes left, but got no closer. The low scoring night can be attributed more to good defense than poor offense. LSU held the Sycamores to a paltry 30 percent shooting effort from the field with three blocks and four steals. “Anytime you hold a team like this to 13-43 from the field and you have a guy like [Sycamore guard Jack] Kelly who only gets eight shot attempts, it’s good,” Johnson said. “This is a good basketball team we played.”The Sycamores didn’t lag far behind on “D.” LSU shot a measly 34 percent from the field, including a staggering 0-15 from beyond the arc. Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna said he was proud of his team’s performance. “Our effort was really good defensively,” McKenna said. “Our guys executed our game plan and how we wanted to guard. Holding them to 34 percent shooting was a positive, but we just couldn’t keep them off the glass.”He wasn’t lying. LSU, including sophomore forward Storm Warren, outrebounded the Sycamores 50-28.Warren once again notched a stellar performance. The Monroe native finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, after nearly recording a double-double in the first half with 10 points and eight boards. Johnson said Warren “has a nose for the ball.”LSU senior forward Tasmin Mitchell, who nabbed 14 rebounds himself, sees Warren’s rebounding  vital to the team’s success.”That’s what he does,” Mitchell said. “That’s his gift, to find rebounds. Sometime we miss a shot and we’ll say, ‘Storm got it.'”Harris also turned in a second straight sparkling effort. Harris had 10 points and 8 boards in 21 minutes of action. “Dennis is playing well,” Johnson said. “He’s showing his aggressiveness, and he’s showing his length.”–Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]