The LSU Tigers ran the same plays and got the same open looks in the second half as they did in the first 20 minutes Thursday night in the PMAC, but LSU coach John Brady and several players said once they were able to settle their first-half jitters, they were able to make the open shots.
Once the Tigers were able to calm their nerves at halftime, it was a matter of making their open shots to overcome a 4 point deficit to defeat EA Sports 74-54 in their first exhibition game of the season.
Brady said the Tigers, who have only one senior in guard Darrel Mitchell, missed shots because they were nervous in the first half.
“We started the game a little anxious,” Brady said. “We were throwing balls at each other like we were 20 yards apart but we were actually 3 feet [apart]. I just kind of sat there early on and let them play through some anxiety. In the second half we increased the lead and had four freshman on the floor for a lot of the time, which is [encouraging]. We need to get a little more physical, but our perimeter defense was pretty good. Darrel Mitchell really forced some turnovers in the second half.”
Sophomore Glen Davis led the Tigers with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Freshman Tasmin Mitchell scored 13 points and had two steals, four rebounds, two blocks and seven assists in 37 minutes.
“I like dishing the ball off and getting my teammates the ball,” Tasmin Mitchell said. “It lets people know that we’re a team out to win with each other and not just one player.”
Only Darrel Mitchell, who played for 39 minutes, was on the court longer. He scored 17 points and had five assists and five steals.
“We came out in the second half and picked up the defense, caused more turnovers and got some easy baskets in transition and took over the game,” Darrel Mitchell said.
LSU’s defense stiffened in the second half, forcing EA Sports to shoot only 25 percent from the floor.
EA Sports shot 50 percent in the first half and made five of their eight 3-point attempts.
The Tigers were down 31-27 at halftime after they committed six turnovers and shot only 12 of 31 from the floor in the first half without ever having the lead.
LSU outscored EA Sports 47-23 after they made 69 percent of their shots in the second half.
Brady said the team continued to play hard, although their shots were not falling in the first half.
“They didn’t get discouraged because they were good shots, and that’s what I told them,” Brady said.
The Tigers’ first lead of the game did not come until the second half when Davis made a layup with 12 minutes and 12 seconds remaining.
The layup gave LSU a 40-39 advantage, which was never relinquished. The Tigers finished the game on a 34-15 run.
Brady said the team had three goals going into the game – defend, rebound and execute.
“As the game moved along, we kind of met those goals along the way,” Brady said.
 
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