The statistics of LSU’s 85-68 rout of South Carolina don’t exactly match the final result.The Tigers (13-3, 1-1) and Gamecocks (12-3, 1-1) combined for 47 fouls and 35 turnovers, but that didn’t put a damper on one of LSU’s most impressive performances of the season.”Obviously there was a lot of frustration amongst our team the last two games out,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. “When we practice well, play hard, are intense and locked in, we can play with anybody. This group’s not going to quit or get down, they’re going to compete the best they can.”Junior forward Tasmin Mitchell headlined the effort. He notched his 12th career double-double with 30 points and 14 rebounds — both career highs — and was the only Tiger starter who didn’t run into foul trouble.”In Alabama I got caught up in foul trouble, and I tried not to make the mistakes I made in Alabama to get those fouls,” Mitchell said. “I feel I need to be on the court. My team wants me on the court. My teammates did a good job of getting it to me so I thank them for that.”Sophomore point guard Bo Spencer and senior shooting guard Garrett Temple combined for eight steals on the night, sparking the Tigers to two first-half runs. The pair each finished with 10 points despite foul trouble. Both guards nearly fouled out, and Spencer was confined to the bench for nine minutes of the first half.”That’s probably our best game, when we can get out and run,” Spencer said. “We’ve got bigs that like to jump up and down. We’ve got Taz, and I feel like I can knock down a shot in an open game.”Spencer and Temple weren’t the only ones in foul trouble. The first half alone featured 21 combined team fouls, and LSU took the foul line for all it was worth. The Tigers connected on 12 of 13 first-half free throws after reaching the charity stripe just 10 times in Sunday’s loss to Alabama.The accuracy helped the Tigers capitalize on South Carolina’s own putrid efforts.  The Gamecocks finished the game with a dismal 36.4 free throw percentage, a full 31 points below their season average.”It was mostly mental,” said South Carolina coach Darrin Horn. “It seemed like every guy that got to the line after [South Carolina forward Dominique Archie] missed his two shots was thinking about the guy in front of him missing. The sad part is that if we were a little better [from the line] in the first half, this might have been a totally different game.”The Gamecocks entered Wednesday night’s game as the Southeastern Conference’s No. 3 scoring offense, averaging 81 points a game. But the Tigers found their rhythm on offense. LSU outrebounded South Carolina 21-13 in the first half and shot 53.8 percent from the field to the Gamecocks’ 36 percent.”We’re talking about a team that averages 80 points a game,” Johnson said. “I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping them under control.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]