The LSU basketball team took down Ole Miss on Saturday to sweep the season series. The Tigers (17-4, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) picked up their tenth straight win, defeating the Rebels 73-63.
The first half was all LSU. The team set the tone on the glass. The Tigers doubled Ole Miss’ rebounds in a half that featured a 25-2 LSU run.
Freshman Forward Trendon Watford commanded early with 11 points and five rebounds followed by Emmitt Williams’ nine points and three rebounds. The Tigers also made their presence known inside, shooting an efficient 60% from the field and taking 21 free throws.
Ole Miss had a 12-0 run to start the second half. LSU saw what was once a 40-16 lead diminished to just an eight-point advantage. However, the Tigers were resilient and pushed the lead back up to 21 following a Darius Days three-pointer with just under 7 minutes to play.
The Rebels made a late scoring run, but LSU closed things out for a double-digit victory.
Aside from the start of the second half, the Tigers hounded Ole Miss defensively with six blocks and six steals. LSU also grabbed 42 rebounds, 27 of which came from Watford, Williams and Marlon Taylor.
Coach Will Wade continues to stress holding onto big leads and closing out games. The second half got off to a rough start on both ends for LSU, missing some key shots in the paint and having lackadaisical defense.
“I think it was a combination of both,” Wade said. “If we want to have a special season we’ve got to be more dominant on both sides of the ball. We let them get a little more comfortable where they had some cleaner looks.”
The Tigers ran the offense through sophomre Guard Javonte Smart, who led the team in points and assists while playing a game-high 37 minutes. Taylor recorded a double-double off of the bench and scored all but one of his 13 points in the second half, providing a much-needed spark for LSU after the lead was cut to eight.
“We live for games like this,” Taylor said. “Today was just my day. Each game is someone’s night. We prepared the right way.”
The Tigers will travel to Nashville on Wednesday to take on Vanderbilt as they continue their SEC tour.