When the fall 2006 semester ended, the LSU men’s basketball team was 5-2, with both losses by fewer than five points. Since then, the Tigers have lost two of their nine games, and sophomore transfer Terry Martin has emerged as a viable scoring option for LSU. Senior forward Darnell Lazare said if the Tigers want success in the Southeastern Conference, their defense must remain consistent. “We went on the west coast to play against some [Pacific]-10 teams who can really score the ball really well,” Lazare said. “So our transition defense needs to improve, and our half-court defense needs to improve, and since then it has improved a tremendous deal. Scoring is going to be on some nights and off some nights, but defense is the key.”
1. at Oregon State (Dec. 17) The Tigers almost surrendered a 16-point second half lead to the Beavers, but junior forward Glen Davis’ 22 points and 13 rebounds helped hold off Oregon State University and gave LSU a 60-53 victory. The Tigers held the Beavers to 32.8 percent shooting in the game, but going 11-of-21 from behind the arc kept the Beavers from being part of a complete blowout. 2. at Washington (Dec. 20) The second half of the Tigers’ Pacific-10 road trip did not turn out as well as they thought it would as LSU fell to the No. 17 University of Washington Huskies, 88-72. Huskies’ freshman center Spencer Hawes scored a then-season high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. More importantly, Hawes held LSU’s Davis to only eight points and snapped Davis’ streak of 48 consecutive games scoring in double figures. The play of the Huskies’ post players was the key to victory. Hawes and sophomore forward Jon Brockman combined for 42 points and 26 rebounds. Washington capitalized on eight LSU turnovers to take a 39-20 first-half lead, and the Tigers trailed 50-36 at halftime. After LSU cut Washington’s lead to 11, a John Brady technical foul sparked an 11-5 Huskies’ run from which the Tigers would not recover.
3. Louisiana Tech (Dec. 23) LSU returned to the PMAC after 24 days without a home game and soundly beat the Bulldogs, 68-52. In only his second game in uniform, Martin scored 19 points in 25 minutes off the bench for the Tigers. Martin converted his first five 3-point attempts and finished the game 7-of-9 from the field. Davis was 4-for-11 in the contest but hit 15 free throws to finish with 23 points and 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
4. Wright State (Dec. 27) The Tigers had no trouble in the first night of the Hispanic College Fund Classic beating the Wright State University Raiders, 71-45, in the PMAC. Davis connected on three 3-pointers and finished the game with a season high 26 points. The two transfer players also played well for LSU, with Dameon Mason and Martin each adding 14 points. LSU held the Horizon League’s leading scorer, senior guard DaShaun Wood, to 17 points on 6-for-16 shooting.
5. Mississippi Valley (Dec. 28) A 15-0 run in the first 4:55 of the game crushed the Delta Devils’ hopes of an upset, and the Tigers easily notched their ninth win of the season, 92-58. Five LSU players scored in double figures in the victory, led by Davis’ 19 points and sophomore forward Tasmin Mitchell’s 17 points. The Tigers shot 56.5 percent from the field in the game and out-rebounded Mississippi Valley University, 41-28.
6. Samford (Dec. 29) The Tigers closed out the Hispanic College Fund Classic with a 60-45 win against Samford University. Davis once again led LSU to the winner’s circle, scoring a team-high 19 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards. Senior guard and Baton Rouge native Randall Gulina scored 14 points for the Bulldogs, but the Tigers held every other Samford player below double figures.
7. Connecticut (Jan. 6) Under the bright lights and cameras of ESPN, LSU pulled away in the second half from a talented-yet-inexperienced University of Connecticut Huskies team en route to a 66-49 nationally televised win. The Tigers trailed by as many as nine points in the first half but kept within striking distance with defense. A 3-pointer by junior guard Tack Minor gave LSU a 30-28 lead at the halftime buzzer. Runs of 12-4 and 15-6 and 12 turnovers in the second half kept the Huskies from getting their first road win of their young season. Connecticut started five underclassmen in the game, and freshman Jerome Dyson led the team in scoring with 12 points on 3-for-10 shooting. Neither squad shot the ball well in the contest. The Huskies hit 31.6 percent of their shots while the Tigers shot 40.4 percent in the game and 46.2 percent in the second half. Mitchell led LSU to victory with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Davis added 16 points and eight boards. Strong bench play also fueled the Tigers’ win. Minor had seven points and three assists, and sophomore forward Magnum Rolle had four points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.
8. at Alabama (Jan. 9) LSU opened its Southeastern Conference schedule with a sub-par performance against the Crimson Tide. The Tigers were held to 35.7 percent shooting in their 71-61 loss. Despite playing with sore ribs and a sore knee sustained in a two-car accident following the Tigers’ Jan. 6 win against Connecticut, Davis played 39 minutes, scored 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Mitchell was the only other Tiger in double figures with 19 points. Four Crimson Tide players scored in double figures with sophomore forward Richard Hendrix scoring a team-high 18 points and preseason all-SEC forward Jermareo Davidson adding 12 points and 12 rebounds. Mitchell and Davis combined to shoot 17-for-34 from the field but got no help from the rest of the Tigers. LSU’s next leading scorer was sophomore Garrett Temple, who had five points, and Tigers not named Davis or Mitchell shot 8-for-36 in the contest.
9. Auburn (Saturday) In their SEC home opener, the Tigers overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to beat Auburn University, 65-63. The win was LSU’s 18th consecutive triumph against an SEC opponent in the PMAC. Martin started his first game as an LSU Tiger and scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. Mitchell scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds despite picking up three fouls in the first 6:00 of the game.
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]