By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY: LSU entered its new reality without Jalen Reed on Sunday.
More important than the, 80-71, final score was the effort of the new-look frontcourt.
Florida Gulf Coast doesn’t boast much size, so it was a comfortable transition for the Tigers. Corey Chest and Daimion Collins started the game, and Robert Miller III was able to provide 15 minutes highlighted by a thunderous putback slam over two defenders.
Florida Gulf Coast gave LSU some trouble on the glass early, reeling in 11 first half offensive rebounds. The Eagles turned those into 10 second chance points. LSU cleaned that up in the second half, allowing just four offensive rebounds that netted two points.
Offensively, Collins led LSU with 18 points. He made a back-to-the-basket move for a bucket early in the game. He dropped in a midrange floater midway through the second half. He used a little pump fake in the lane to create a finger roll bucket. He also stepped out and hit a three. Chest was extremely efficient with his touches. He finished the game 6-of-7 from the floor for 12 points. He also grabbed a dozen rebounds.
That duo did combine for six turnovers. That’s not unexpected with a heavier workload and set of responsibilities on the offensive end. That’s what this month will be about for them.
Perhaps more help is on the way. Noah Boyde, the 7-foot junior college transfer made his season debut with about 90 seconds left in the game. He’s been on the mend from ACL surgery and could provide a big body to the rotation.
As far as the entire team goes, the Tigers finally started a game off with a strong offensive first half. LSU shot 54 percent from the floor and 43 percent from the three-point line in the first half, piling up 42 points.
Cam Carter and Dji Bailey combined the make 5-of-6 threes to kick start the LSU offense before halftime.
Florida Gulf Coast has a way of making things easy on opposing defenses. Entering the game, only one of America’s 264 teams shot fewer free throws than the Eagles. That held up. The Eagles didn’t attempt a free throw until there was 9:36 to play. That’s 30:24 of game time without getting to the charity stripe.
LSU contested most of FGCU’s three-point attempts until the end of the game. The Eagles made their final three long range shots to trim the deficit and dress up the percentage.
LSU led by 18 with 3:23 to play. That late flurry of threes made the final score look closer than the game played out.
Ultimately, LSU took care of business entering finals week. The players will get a couple of days to complete their semester’s work before a trip to Frisco next weekend to play an 8-2 SMU team.
THE STATS: LSU shot 50% from the floor.
All five Tigers starters finished in double figures.
Playing against one of the slower teams in college basketball, LSU was able to get out and run for 20 fast break points.
LSU’s starting backcourt of Jordan Sears, Dji Bailey and Cam Carter finished 7-for-16 from three, 44%
Collins blocked three shots. He blocked four against Florida State on Tuesday.
Carter dished out five assists.
Florida Gulf Coast was just 10-for-23 on dunks and layups.
THE QUOTES: Head Coach Matt McMahon on Collins’s offensive game…
“Probably the most surprising thing when we first got Daimion here was, I didn’t realize how skilled he was as a player. And the way Gulf Coast was defending ball screens, Daimion was able to work short ball area, 12 to 15 feet out right by the free throw line. I thought he was really effective as a passer but also you saw that nice floater on the SEC logo. You saw his footwork around the rim. I thought his skill package was in full display there.”
McMahon on the pace of the game…
“We were concerned that they would try to slow the game down and mix those defenses. Try and keep the game down in the 60s, so for us to put 42 up in the first half and be able to play the game at the pace we wanted to, I thought was important for us. To get to 80 was big.”
