By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY: No one will remember that first half come March, but it was an ugly one.
Ultimately, LSU overcame a sleepy Sunday start and pulled away from Alabama State to win, 74-61.
LSU’s half-court offense produced next to nothing in the first half, and the visiting Hornets out-hustled the home team to take a 32-26 halftime lead that eventually swelled to 10 with 12:38 to play. LSU outscored Alabama State 36-13 from that point forward on the backs of senior transfers Jordan Sears and Cam Carter.
Those two combined to miss eight of their nine shots and turned the ball over three times in the first half. After intermission, they took the game over. Both guards scored 18 points on a combined 8-for-11 from the floor. Carter made three of four from three-point range. Sears also splashed one. They got to the foul line for 18 attempts and made 16 of them.
On the other end of the floor, LSU’s defensive energy ticked up. The Tigers held Alabama State to just 27 percent shooting and 1-for-12 from three-point range.
LSU did enough to win the game. That’s really all that matters in the grand scheme. If they start like that on Thursday against Kansas State, it’ll get ugly. There are land mines to be avoided in November and December. LSU narrowly skirted one Sunday evening.
Now for a real test this week.
THE STATS
LSU made 11 of its final 15 shots. Carter and Sears were responsible for eight of the 11.
Alabama State made four of its final 19 shots.
LSU blocked six shots, many of which came from help side defenders like Damion Collins, Derek Fountain and Robert Miller coming over to swat driving looks at the rim. LSU didn’t have much of a rim presence last season. Will Baker wasn’t a shot blocker. Collins missed much of the year. Jalen Reed doesn’t block a ton of shots.
Alabama State shot 1-for-20 from three-point range.
In the first half LSU shot 32% from the floor, 23% from three, missed half of its 14 free throw attempts and turned the ball over eight times. Woof.
Dji Bailey led LSU with seven rebounds. He’s been a solid rebounder from the guard spot.
THE PLAYS: Miller showed some hustle and athleticism with a chase down block early in the contest.
Elite Hustle from the Freshman ✅
SECN+ | @futurefilled pic.twitter.com/ZELEkdE2VZ
— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) November 10, 2024
Carter put LSU up four with 6:45 left, and Alabama State never drew closer.
C5 FOR 3 🫡
11-1 Run for the Tigers!
SECN+ | @camryncarter23 pic.twitter.com/XQbtrDk6bf
— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) November 10, 2024
