The LSU men’s basketball team capped off finals week with a 95-60 victory over the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders Saturday night. The Islanders opened up the game with a 4-0 lead, but the Tigers answered with a 34-6 run and never looked back.
The Islanders drop to 2-5 with the loss and the Tigers improve to 5-1. The 35-point loss was the largest loss margin the Islanders have had since the start of their program in the 1999-2000 season.
“It felt good to come after finals and play with intensity and win,” LSU guard Antonio Hudson said.
LSU made 37 of 58 shots from the field, a little better than 60 percent, while the Islanders shot 36.8 percent.
Hudson helped lead the Tigers to victory with 12 points, but head coach John Brady praised his defensive effort.
“Hudson played well defensively, and I believe he could be one of the better defenders we’ve had around here,” Brady said.
Senior forward Ronald Dupree led LSU scoring 18 points, pulling down six rebounds and adding four assists. For more than three-fourths of the game, the Tigers score doubled the Islanders. This allowed the Tiger reserves to see extensive play.
Thomas Davis came off the bench to wow the crowd with a couple of big dunks and his play impressed Brady also. The coaches thought Davis was lacking in his play execution and his physicalness lately, keeping him on the bench.
“Thomas Davis was outstanding,” Brady said. “It looks to me like he wants to play again. I’m going to feel better about putting him in the game.”
In the closing seconds of the game, reserve Paul Wolfert excited the crowd by scoring his first basket in his LSU career.
Brady said the Tigers will face their toughest opponent so far this season in Prairie View A&M on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. in the PMAC. Prairie View has beat Houston and nearly beat Oklahoma.