After No. 18 LSU took on the Florida on Tuesday night in the PMAC, LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson did something he rarely does in front of the media. He smiled. The Tigers’ first-year coach said he was happy for his team – very happy. “You have no idea,” he said. With LSU’s 81-75 victory the Tigers clinched no worse than a tie for the Southeastern Conference regular season championship. “Nobody but the people in the locker room thought we were going to be 12-1 after 13 games in the SEC” said LSU senior guard Garrett Temple. Temple had a career night for the Tigers. He tallied a season-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including going 3-of-4 from the 3-point line. His previous high was 18, which he picked up against Tulane on Dec. 2, 2006. “I just tried to knock down my open shots,” Temple said. “And I was able to do that.” Temple didn’t miss a basket in the first half. Teammate Marcus Thornton was also on fire in the first half – the senior guard missed his first 3-pointer of the game but made his next five. Thornton finished the half 5-of-8 from the field with 15 points. “Once I get going, not to sound cocky, but I feel I can make it from anywhere,” Thornton said. Thornton finished with 32 points on 8-of-15 shooting. “I’ve gotten spoiled,” Johnson said. “Marcus can flat out play. If there is a better two-guard in the country other than the guy in Kentucky, I’d like to see him.” Despite the LSU guards’ hot shooting, the Gators ended the first half on top, 41-37. The teams traded leads for most of the second half until LSU junior forward Tasmin Mitchell hit two free throws to give the Tigers a one point lead, 60-59. Mitchell then converted a three point play that stretched the lead to seven with 9:07 left in the game. LSU didn’t trail for the rest of the game. “The game was decided in the second half,” Johnson said. “We guarded them and really got after them.” —- Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]