The LSU Tigers rebounded their way to an impressive 75-49 victory over the Prairie View A&M Panthers Tuesday night. Encouraged from their play, the team is looking forward to Saturday’s matchup with the No. 1-ranked team in the country-Arizona.
Senior point guard Torris Bright led LSU (6-1) in scoring with 14 points and only turned the ball over once, while the entire team played defense well holding the Panthers to 30.8 percent shooting from the field. Four Tigers scored in double digits. Jaime Lloreda and Ronald Dupree contributed double-doubles by dominating the boards as well.
“I still think our flow’s better because Torris Bright is playing really well,” said LSU head coach John Brady.
Bright seemed to agree. “When I pick it up and play well, they play well,” he said. “That’s just the way it works.”
LSU was only 13-35 from the field in the first half, but took a 35-23 lead into halftime because the team pulled down 13 offensive boards. In the second half, they improved their shooting to 58.3 percent while continuing to out-rebound the Panthers.
“We shot poorly from the field. If you do that, you are going to have opportunities to rebound the ball,” Dupree said of the first half. “We were just there, we out-hustled them; we beat them to the ball.”
The game did not suffer from a lack of exciting play, but one play brought the fans to their feet like no other during the game. With only 8.1 seconds remaining in the game freshman forward Tim Bush wrestled the ball from a Panther player, then ran down the court on a fast break. Instead of taking the shot, Bush passed it to freshman guard Josh Maravich who banked it in for the easy basket. The goal marked the first of Josh Maravich’s career and the first points scored by a Maravich in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Brady credited the play and attitude of the reserves, specifically Darrel Mitchell and Thomas Davis. Having talented players on the bench allows him to substitute players the opposing team must guard, he said.
After the win, Brady said he was looking forward to the Saturday’s game. He also said he feels good about the team, and he is ready to practice tomorrow in preparation for the Arizona Wildcats. “What an opportunity for our team that we have Saturday,” he said.