The LSU basketball team enjoyed a height advantage Tuesday night that invariably lent a helping hand in securing its second victory — a 78-61 win versus Southern Miss on Tuesday.
Southern Miss started three players listed at 6-foot-7: Quinton Campbell, Eddie Davis III and Raheem Watts. But they were dwarfed in the paint by LSU’s 6-foot-10 forwards Aaron Epps and Duop Reath.
LSU coach Johnny Jones’ big men combined for 19 points, and it was ultimately sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney who led the way with 26 points as the Tigers (2-0) ran away with a 17-point victory against the Golden Eagles (1-1).
Blakeney said he fed off his teammates spacing the floor and giving him open shots, while his performance led to better opportunities for them to showcase their abilities as well.
“It’s key to my teammates for spacing the floor and believing in me to make the shots,” Blakeney said.
It was a favorable shooting night for the Tigers in all, outshooting Southern Miss 54 percent to 40 percent and draining 9 of 16 3-point attempts.
The Tigers were still without junior forward Craig Victor, an 11.6 point per game scorer last season, after he incurred a suspension following the violation of an unspecified team rule.
But Epps and freshman forward Wayde Sims, both of whom enjoyed hot shooting performances during the season opener, performed in his stead with nine and 10 points, respectively, on Tuesday.
“Our guys, between Sims and Epps, were able to keep it steady,” Jones said. “And I thought Elbert [Robinson] came in, and the eight minutes he played were positive minutes. He had a couple big baskets for us, a couple big rebounds and he defended well.”
Three Golden Eagles registered three digit-scoring performances, which kept the game within reach through most of the second half. Senior guard Michael Ramey finished with 13 points on a 5-of-11 shooting clip.
Reath, meanwhile, is emerging as LSU’s best offseason addition as a two-way big. The Lee College transfer found himself in foul trouble early in the second half but scored 10 points and blocked two shots in 19 minutes before fouling out with two minutes remaining.
“I was pleased with Duop because of the fact that he continued to stay engaged and stayed aggressive although he picked up fouls,” Jones said.
LSU carved out a 12-point lead in the first half as sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney scored 13 of his game-high points after posting 10 on 2-of-11 shooting during the season opener.
“In the first half, although we went [to halftime] with the lead, I didn’t think we had the flow that I would like to have on the offensive end,” Jones said. “We scored 78 points, but I didn’t think we ever got to the rhythm that I would’ve liked to.”
The Tigers’ lead shrunk to as little as five, but hovered around the double-digit precipice before LSU pulled away in the final three minutes.