LSU Slams Stetson, 99-53, As 5 Players Score In Double Figures

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU ran an extremely crisp practice Tuesday night, and charged admission because there was another team there … sort of.

The Tigers shot 55 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range and held Stetson to 30 percent shooting for an easy, 99-53 win in front of 6,599 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU (9-2) led 17-0 in the opening nine minutes and by 29-5 a few minutes later before taking a 47-10 halftime lead. The Tigers stretched the advantage into the 40s over the final four minutes of the game and led by as many as 49 at 96-47 and 99-50 with less than 90 seconds to go. Stetson dropped to 1-10.

LSU freshman guard Vyctorius Miller scored 16 off the bench with 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range in 20 minutes. Guard Cam Carter also had 16 with 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range and had three assists. Guard Dji Bailey scored 14, and forward Corey Chest put in 13 with 10 rebounds in only 19 minutes. Freshman guard Curtis Givens III had 12 with a trio of threes on nine attempts in 19 minutes off the bench.

“You know, you’ve just got to keep your foot on their necks,” Carter said. “I mean, that’s really it. It was great for us.”

LSU was coming off a 74-64 loss to SMU in Frisco, Texas, on Saturday.

“You know, the loss to SMU I think is something that we needed,” Carter said. “Sometimes, you need to get hit in the mouth like that.”

LSU did all the hitting on this night.

“I was really pleased with our guys’ preparation the last two days, coming off the tough loss on Saturday,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “I thought the first half defensive effort was awesome. I thought we really connected as one, contested every shot, made everything they got really difficult. I don’t remember being a part of a 10-point half like that before, so I was really pleased there.”

McMahon used nine players for 15 minutes or more and played 12 in all..

“Offensively, I thought this was the most unselfishness that we played with,” he said. “We were able to get in the paint instead of forcing tough shots. I thought we kicked it out, shared the ball, got some open looks from the three.”

LSU next plays on Sunday at 2 p.m. against UNO (2-7).