For the first time in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the lights were cut out for the team’s introduction ceremony at the beginning of the game. The Houston Cougars probably wish the lights would have stayed out.
LSU handed Houston an 80 – 51 loss Wednesday night at the PMAC. Ronald Dupree led the Tigers with 23 points and Collis Temple III added 14 points. Torris Bright chipped in with 11 points and 10 assists, his second double-double of the season.
The Tigers improved to 10-2 on the season and extended their non-conference regular season home winning streak to 45 games with the victory.
Jaime Lloreda did not play due to a knee injury he suffered in the second half of the game against Georgia last weekend. Lloreda’s absence was felt, especially on the boards. The Tigers, who averaged 37.6 rebounds per game with Jaime, only grabbed 27 rebounds on the evening and were out-rebounded by the Cougars 38-27.
Brad Bridgewater, who started in place of Lloreda, scored seven points and had four rebounds.
“We need Jaime because he’s an important asset to the team,” said Antonio Hudson, who scored 10 points against Houston. “But if he’s not back, we have still got to learn to play without him.”
LSU head coach John Brady said two things bothered him after the game. “Our rebounding of the ball the last couple of games and then our shooting from the perimeter.”
The Tigers only led by four points with 2:49 left in the first half when they exploded to a 15-3 run to end the half. They extended the run into the second half to 27-7 and shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field in the second frame.
“We knew it was just a matter of time,” Dupree said. “We knew that if we put some points together and stopped them a couple of times that the game would be over with and that’s what happened.”
For the Cougars (2-9), Louis Truscott scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. But the Tiger defense forced Truscott, who averaged 16.7 points per game previously, to turnover the ball nine times. This was the sixth-straight loss for head coach Ray McCallum’s squad.
LSU will host SEC West rival Mississippi State, ranked No. 7 in the country, this Saturday at 7 p.m.
“It’s going to be the most physical team we’ve played to this point this year,” Brady said.