LSU didn’t look back after taking the lead at the 14-minute, 17-second mark.
After leading nearly the entire first half before surrendering the lead to North Florida early in the second period, LSU (3-0) came out of a timeout firing and rode that spark to a 78-70 victory against North Florida (1-3).
Sophomore guard Brandon Sampson fired the three-pointer that gave LSU the lead for good, his second within two possessions after making just one bucket in the first half.
“He was real aggressive,” said sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney of Sampson’s spark. “That definitely helped us.”
North Florida wouldn’t hold the lead again, though its deficit was cut to as little as four with 4:11 left.
Sampson was the spark, but sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney and junior forward Duop Reath paced the Tigers offensively. Blakeney deposited a game-high 20 points, while Reath scored 17 with a 7-for-12 clip while shooting a perfect 2-for-2 from long range, though he fouled out for the second consecutive game.
Four Ospreys registered double-digit scoring performances. Senior forward Chris Davenport led the pack with 16 points while shooting 50 percent, but he committed 11 turnovers in 32 minutes.
Blakeney and Reath led LSU’s offensive attack in the first half with nine points each.
LSU held the lead for 18:07 of the first 20 minutes and built its lead as high as 10 with 6:48 left in the half, but North Florida kept it close and utilized an 8-0 run in the final 2:35 that cut its deficit to one.
Reath said there was a “fiery” halftime speech by junior forward Craig Victor, who sat out what is expected to be the last game of his suspension.
“We knew we weren’t executing on defense how we were supposed to,” Sampson said. “We just wanted to get that momentum on defense.”
It was an off-shooting night for both teams from the free throw line – LSU made just 13-of-23 attempts while North Florida shot 13 for 28.
Sampson scored 16 and junior forward Aaron Epps added 14 as LSU outshot North Florida, 47 percent (29-62) to 44 percent (25-57).
“It’s one of those games where you just got to try to keep playing better as the game goes and try to correct those mistakes that you been making,” Blakeney said. “I’m just happy that we got the win.”