GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU’s weak spot this season has been rebounding, so coach Matt McMahon and staff got everyone involved to make sure that didn’t happen on Sunday afternoon.
That included the guards, who collected 26 rebounds in leading the Tigers to a 50-37 advantage on the boards in their 86-70 victory over UNO at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Guard Cam Carter led LSU (10-2) with 14 points and 11 rebounds – a rare double-digit for a guard. Guard Dji Bailey also had seven rebounds with 12 points. Guard Vyctorius Miller added five boards and a team-high 17 points with 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range off the bench. Guard Jordan Sears scored 10 points with two rebounds, and guard Curtis Givens Jr. added seven points, five assists and a rebound off the bench.
“The coaches were saying to the guards, ‘I need you to get seven rebounds, and you to get five, and you to get five,'” Carter said after the game.
The combinations worked as forward Corey Chest grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 12 points. Forward Robert Miller III had seven rebounds off the bench and four points. James White led UNO with 24 points, including 13 in the first half, and 11 rebounds.
LSU trailed by eight early against UNO (2-9) and led by just 30-29 at the half, but the Tigers pulled away behind a four-guard attack in the second half.
“We were struggling on both ends in the first half,” McMahon said “We got better spacing with the four guards and were able to stop White some in the second half.”
LSU also cut down on its turnovers in the second half with just four after nine in the first half. Forward Daimion Collins added eight points and two rebounds.
A three-pointer by Givens completed an 11-0 run eight minutes into the second half for a 49-38 LSU lead, and the Tigers led by double digits the rest of the way.
The Tigers play one more non-conference game on against Mississippi Valley State (2-10) on Sunday (6 p.m., SEC Network+) before opening Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 4 against Vanderbilt (11-1) on Saturday, Jan. 4 (3:30 p.m., ESPN2).
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