For the second straight game, the LSU men’s basketball team thrived on a strong defensive effort, holding LSU-Shreveport to 28.6 percent shooting in LSU’s 122-58 win Tuesday night in the PMAC.
In its first exhibition game, the LSU defense held EA Sports to 37 percent shooting despite allowing 50 percent shooting in the first half.
“Both teams that we’ve played started out making some baskets against us,” LSU coach John Brady said. “But defensively, we’re a little better than I thought we’d be.”
LSU-Shreveport began by making its first seven shots and taking an early lead.
With LSU-Shreveport leading 17-15, the Tigers reeled off an 18-1 run. LSU never looked back and headed into the half up 61-35.
After shooting 55.6 percent in the first half, the LSU offense came out strong in the second half, shooting 64.9 percent and starting the half on a 13-2 run.
Redshirt freshman Tyrus Thomas led the Tigers, pulling down 11 rebounds and blocking for shots in just 16 minutes of play. Thomas finished the night with 15 points.
“Coach told us he didn’t want them to score 60,” Thomas said. “It just boiled down to playing hard-nosed defense.”
Thomas said playing strong defense can carry into the regular season.
“It’s a confidence booster,” Thomas said. “It’s the last little boost before the season starts so we can get off to a good start. I think we’re going to do well.”
After forcing 20 turnovers against EA Sports, the Tigers managed to force just 12 against LSU-Shreveport. But LSU turned the 12 turnovers into 22 points for the Tigers.
Brady said playing good defense boils down to strong preparation, which is something the team has done well at.
“There’s always going to be a learning curve with the intensity you have to play with,” Brady said. “Our team, particular our young guys, have responded well. I don’t see any reason why that won’t continue.”
Offensively, LSU proved dominant, shooting 60.3 percent on the game. Senior point guard Darrel Mitchell led the Tigers with 18 points in 23 minutes of play.
Starting at the point guard position for the second straight game, Mitchell said he is getting more comfortable in leading the offense.
“I felt good today,” Mitchell said. “I felt more comfortable than last game. [The last game] was kind of my first game at the point in a while, since my senior year [in high school].”
With the exhibition season now complete, The Tigers are now looking ahead to the regular season. LSU will host Southern University in the season opener Friday night in the PMAC.
“We’ve done a lot of things well,” Brady said. “But we just need to keep the commitment to get better. We need to continue to have the goal to get better.”
 
Notes:
Junior college transfer Kentrell Gransberry did not show up with the team at last night’s game.
Gransberry, who transferred from San Jacinto Junior College in the offseason, had just two rebounds and no points in two minutes of play against EA Sports last week.
“We are in the process of talking to him now,” Brady said. “He was really disappointed about the other night. It bothers me a little bit that a guy would make a knee-jerk decision because he didn’t play as much as he would have liked in the exhibition game.”