LSU junior forward Storm Warren’s dunk to put the Tigers up, 2-0, could only be described as a red herring.
Nicholls State snapped the LSU men’s basketball team’s 82-game home winning streak against Louisiana schools as the Colonels (1-1) defeated the Tigers (1-1) for the first time ever, 62-53, at the PMAC on Tuesday night.
“It was a good thing we got this one out of the way early,” said sophomore guard Aaron Dotson.
LSU couldn’t hold onto the ball, committing 18 turnovers to the Colonels’ eight. Nicholls State also had nine more steals than LSU.
Dotson led the Tigers with four turnovers, and eight Tigers turned the ball over at least once in the game.
“We rushed our passes,” Dotson said. “I know I rushed a few passes. I could have been more patient and waited for my guy to get open.”
The Tigers had trouble handling the ball from the start, trailing, 6-0, in turnovers to begin the game.
Junior forward Garrett Green and freshman guard Andre Stringer were the only two Tigers with playing time not to commit a turnover Tuesday night.
“When you have 18 turnovers and you can spread them around, you’re not going to beat a lot of people,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson.
Stringer had 14 points and three assists but shot only 4-of-13 from the field.
Freshman forward Matt Derenbecker also added 14 points and went 3-of-7 from 3-point range. He played 28 minutes after playing only six against Northwestern State on Friday.
The Tigers shot 37.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.
LSU led, 25-21, at the half, but the Colonels outscored the Tigers, 41-28, in the second half. Nicholls State led, 42-40, with 6:29 left before closing the door on the Tigers with a 9-2 run.
“We came out kind of flat, and they were prepared to be on top of our plays,” Warren said. “They countered just about every first option we had.”
The Colonels didn’t have a player over 6-foot-6 but still had two more points in the paint and three more offensive rebounds than the Tigers. Seven of LSU’s active players are listed at 6-foot-6 or taller.
Warren was the only Tiger active on the glass, finishing with 14 rebounds and eight points. No other Tiger had more than six rebounds.
LSU was also outrebounded, 36-33, on Friday by Northwestern State, which had 15 more offensive rebounds than the Tigers.
“There’s got to be a serious commitment to defending, rebounding, taking care of the ball and being very physical and very violent,” Johnson said.
LSU junior forward Malcolm White, who played 31 minutes Friday, notched only 10 minutes of playing time Tuesday after committing two fouls by the 16:53 mark in the first half.
He finished with two points, two rebounds and three turnovers.
“He’s got to continue to work on catching the ball with two hands, having a feel for where he’s at around the post, understanding the angles and go from there,” Johnson said.
Nicholls State senior forward Anatoly Bose, who was named the “best player no one knows about” by SI.com’s Andy Glockner, scored 28 points in 35 minutes for the Colonels.
Bose recorded his 30th career 20-point game Nov. 12 in a loss to Houston.
“He’s to me what college basketball is about,” Johnson said. “He’s a guy that’s not overly strong, he’s not big, he’s not physical, he’s not overly athletic, but he knows how to play this game.”
Dotson said the Tigers need to figure out their issues quickly as they play Thursday against Tennessee-Martin.
“We have one day to go over the team we play on Thursday, so we’ve got to bounce back right away,” he said.
 
____
Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]