Early free throws and a late offensive surge set LSU men’s basketball apart from FIU in a Thursday night victory riddled with hot and cold moments.
The Tigers’ defense started the game off with heat, but took a backseat after taking a comfortable 22-9 lead. The Panthers turned on the afterburners, but it wasn’t enough to shake LSU, which won 98-81.
“FIU has good athleticism and length in the front court, and that bothered us early around the rim,” LSU head coach Matt McMahon said. “But to come out of the gates there in the second half with a great response, build the lead back into double figures, stretch it out there into the 20s and finish the game off. It was a good step for us.”
The highlight reels came in waves during the first half of the game, including a Pablo Tamba dunk and five solid minutes of points off turnovers to open the game, but there were disappointments as well.
The purple and gold turned the ball over several times and just couldn’t come away with points in crucial moments. Other times when FIU got the ball, LSU couldn’t take control when it had chances to.
The silver lining was that the Tigers were phenomenal at putting the Panthers into sticky situations and getting out of their own unscathed.
The key difference maker in the game was making free throws. The purple and the gold were nearly lights out in their attempts, making 30 of the 34.
Like always, the electric atmosphere at an LSU sporting event is like no other. Fans were loud in the best moments, and the Panthers missed 8 of their 21 attempts.
This was a goal McMahon set for the players this season, point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. said after the game. It’s safe to say that the goal was hit.
“[McMahon] expects us to get to the line that much,” Thomas said. “That’s actually what’s on the board pre-game. He wants us to make more free throws than the other teams attempted. So we just gotta keep pushing the ball in transition and getting to the basket, getting fouls, just staying aggressive.”
Michael Nwoko and Thomas carried the free throw efforts, both going 7-of-8. Nwoko carried out McMahon’s big preseason praise, which was about his size and aggressiveness.
The 6-foot-10-inch transfer blew him away because of his size and athleticism. In the first three games of the regular season, he proved his value to the team.
“He’s more skilled than I expected, quite frankly,” McMahon said in a preseason press conference. “He finishes well around the basket, finishes with either hand. He’s been a great rim threat as a ball screen and roll player … He really can be as good as he wants to be because of his physical tools.”
Nwoko used those tools on Thursday night as he built the score in the second half, with 19 points in 16 minutes of playing time.
Marquel Sutton carried the scoring efforts for the Tigers as well, going 6-of-7 from the field. He scored 19 total points against the Panthers. This game marks his second straight double-double.
LSU’s communication looked significantly better after a few games together. Utilizing the portal has worked in McMahon’s favor, even when uniformity didn’t look its best in the season opener.
Slowly but surely, some of the offseason rust is starting to come off for the Tigers, and getting these hot-and-cold moments out of the way now will be key to solidifying the deep postseason runs the Bayou Bengals used to be known for.
LSU is handling the little things that were going wrong early, and if the Tigers can keep this momentum throughout the season, anything can happen.
“Obviously, we don’t want to give up 81 points, so there’s some areas we want to clean up,” McMahon said. “But overall, to score 98, to live at the free throw line the way we did, to handle some of the adversity we faced there at the end of the first half, it was a good step forward for us. Now we can get back in the practice gym this weekend and get better.”
They’ll fight again to keep the win streak alive on Tuesday, Nov. 8, as LSU takes on Alcorn State at 7 p.m. in the PMAC.
