LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson said his team has played the right teams at the right time so far this season.”It’s the right time in terms of our progression,” he said. “Our schedule has worked out for the most part.”LSU faces its first test against an NCAA tournament team this season when it plays Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the PMAC.The Titans made the Big Dance last season.”I saw them on TV on Thanksgiving, playing against No. 24 ranked Wake Forest,” said senior guard Garrett Temple. “They were only down by five points with a couple of seconds left. This is a team that can play.”Cal State Fullerton is shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point range this season. LSU has limited opponents to 28.7 percent shooting from behind the arc this season.”We’re going to have to take care of the ball, and we’re going to have to really get to shooters,” Johnson said.Johnson said Cal State Fullerton has “a level of toughness that you appreciate.””They’re not going to beat themselves,” he said. “We’re going to have to play well.”LSU (5-0) beat Centenary, 64-58, on Friday and Troy, 92-57, on Sunday in the PMAC.LSU led 62-42 with 2:07 left to play against Centenary (2-5) before Johnson opted to play four freshmen and senior guard Terry Martin the rest of the way.Centenary went on a 16-2 run in the final two minutes of the game, fueled by four 3-pointers by Gents senior guard Nick Stallings and freshman guard David Perez.”I made a decision to play some guys that needed minutes,” Johnson said. “They didn’t do as good of a job as the veteran group did, but the game was never in jeopardy.”Johnson said he asked the young players if they were ready to play before putting them into the game.”Kids have a tendency to be selfish,” Johnson said. “Those guys that said they were ready to play … weren’t ready to play.”Senior center Chris Johnson led the way with 17 points and 14 rebounds but only shot 6-of-14 from the field.”I saw guys were sagging off,” Chris Johnson said. “Coach [Trent Johnson] told me to take a dribble and shoot a little bit.”LSU’s offense as a whole was off-the-mark against Centenary. The Tigers hit 39.2 percent of their shots against the Gents, their lowest percentage of the season.”[Junior forward] Tasmin [Mitchell] and Chris [Johnson] had wide-open shots, and the ball didn’t go down,” Trent Johnson said. “It was just one of those nights.”LSU shot better against Troy, taking more shots but hitting 48.6 percent of them.Senior guard Marcus Thornton scored 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting against Troy.”I’m becoming accustomed to [Coach Johnson’s] system,” Thornton said. “It took me a while.”Senior guard Garrett Temple and sophomore guard Bo Spencer found Thornton all night, with nine of their 16 assists going to him.”We know [Thornton] can shoot the ball,” Temple said. “We’re looking for him. If he’s in a rhythm, and we kick out to him, even if somebody closes up to him he’ll shoot it.”
 
 
 
—- Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]