That was ugly.Although LSU senior forward Tasmin Mitchell notched a season-high 26 points and sophomore forward Storm Warren earned his fourth double-double, the LSU men’s basketball team didn’t provide many other highlights in a sloppy 66-58 win against Louisiana-Lafayette (1-4) on Tuesday night.”Whether you’re in New York for a week or you have guys that are banged up … don’t make excuses for playing bad basketball,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson.LSU (4-2) got the all-important win after a disappointing showing at the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York City, but Johnson could hardly be happy with an effort that saw the Tigers finish with 13 turnovers and a bevy of missed opportunities on the offensive end.”We were sluggish,” Johnson said. “Our inability to take care of the ball at times was just mind-boggling. But the good thing about it is we were able to win.”Mitchell showed flashes of the player who helped carry the Tigers to last season’s Southeastern Conference championship and earned a first-team All-SEC selection. His versatility in the post helped him to 10 rebounds in addition to his point total, earning him his first double-double of the season. Mitchell struggled to a slow start early this season.”It just was me all along,” Mitchell said. “I was just playing with too much pressure on me. I just have to go out there, relax and play within myself no matter what the defense does.”But the strong performance did not prevent Mitchell from echoing his coach’s disappointment in the sloppy performance.”I’m glad we got the victory today, coming back from a two-game losing streak out there in New York,” he said. “I don’t think we played great basketball tonight. There’s no excuse.”Mitchell and Johnson might consider it an excuse, but some of the Tigers’ struggles could be attributed to junior point guard Bo Spencer’s ankle, which he sprained last week. Spencer did not get the start but played 32 minutes and contributed 14 points.It was quite clear that Spencer was still suffering the effects of the sprain, as he also committed four turnovers and appeared to be in pain throughout the game.”It’s not all the way 100 percent, but I felt like I could help my team if I got out there,” Spencer said. “It’s hurting pretty bad.”ULL kept the game close with an impressive team effort from 3-point range. The Ragin’ Cajuns shot a paltry 38 percent from the field, but that number increased to 46 percent from behind the line. ULL notched 18 of its 58-total points from 3-point range.”I was happy with how we played for the most part because we took care of the ball,” said ULL senior forward Tyren Johnson. “We cut down on a lot of turnovers, which we need first and foremost.”The Cajuns never led but did not allow the lead to extend beyond 10 points. Junior guard Travis Bureau cut the margin to as few as two points with two minutes to play.That’s when Mitchell and Warren picked up the slack left by their hobbled signal-caller.Mitchell shot 57 percent from the field and was 3-of-4 from 3-point range, surpassing his season total from behind the arc.His 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining gave the Tigers a 58-52 lead and ended any chance of an upset.”He internalizes so much,” Johnson said. “It was good to see him relax .”Warren stormed to his best overall performance of the season, notching 18 points and 16 boards without getting himself into foul trouble — a problem that hindered him in New York.”Storm has improved so much from a year ago,” said ULL coach Robert Lee. “Inside, he’s really difficult for our basketball team.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]