12/18/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!



      BATON ROUGE: LSU lost to a well coach East Tennessee State team tonight in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, 74-63. The Tigers have been a strong second half team all-season long, as they have been able to recover from first half struggles to win ball games. However, it all caught up to them in tonight's loss. The Buccaneers were extremely prepared and played with confidence and swagger the entire game.  LSU had no answer for Patrick Good, as he gave the Tigers fits all game long, leading ETSU with 19 points. Bo Hodges had 13 points. Jeromy Rodriguez had a double-double, as he added 12 points & 10 rebounds, and Tray Boyd continued his fine play off the bench, contributing 9 points in the win.  LSU continued to struggle with turnovers, committing 15 on the night. East Tennessee out-hustled and out-rebounded the Tigers on both ends of the court, (40-29).  
      The first half began with the Tigers controlling the tip and Emmitt Williams scoring five straight, hitting a quick jumper, then burying a shot from the arc after a ETSU turnover.  From there, LSU would fall back into their familiar season pattern of first half slow, sloppy play. The Buccaneers would battle back and tie the score and keep it close throughout the half. With 6:26 to go,  Skyler Mays would make a layup to tie the score at 22-22.  The Buccaneers would out score the Tigers 16-7 the rest of the way.  Tray Boyd scored on a left handed leaner with 0.3 seconds left, drawing a phantom foul on Javonte Smart. Boyd would miss the charity shot ending the first half with ETSU up 38-29.
      East Tennessee State never allowed LSU to get back into the game in the second half, as they pretty much did whatever they wanted to, running a smooth, aggressive offensive attack. The lead slowly grew as the half progressed. At the 10 minute mark, Jeromy Rodriguez made a beautiful behind the back bounce pass along the baseline to a wide open Lucas N'Guessan, who dunked the ball, putting up the Bucs by a score of 57-37.  ETSU would lead by as much as 23 points in the contest. LSU who averages 83 points a game looked slow and sluggish. The Tigers started a run around the two minute mark, getting to within ten points with 54 seconds remaining, but it was too little, too late. Emmitt Williams had his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points & grabbing 10 rebounds. Skylar Mays played well late in the game as he added 13 points for the Tigers. 
      ETSU, lead by head coach Steve Forbes, has 22 true road wins since the start of the 2017-18 season. That's 4th most in D-1.  It was also the Bucs' first win against a SEC team since they beat Mississippi State 67-65 three years ago.  Tonight's loss ends the Tigers' 16 game winning streak against non-conference opponents at home. It was also the worse defeat at home in the Will Wade era.  Next, LSU (7-3), will travel to Los Angeles to play USC in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic,  Saturday at 8pm. 
      
      
          LSU vs. East Tennessee State Basketball Press Conference December 18, 2019


          **LSU Head Coach Will Wade Opening statement…
      "Obviously a tough night. East Tennessee played tremendously. Give them credit. They had a great, great gameplan. They shrunk the paint on us and then they just pinned their ears back and killed us on the offensive glass. So kind of our two Achilles heels this year popped themselves back up. The turnover problem – we turned it over 15 times tonight. And then getting smashed on the glass like that – them getting 19 offensive rebounds. They got 15 more shots than we did. That really, really hurt us. It was just too much for us, ultimately to overcome." On how you can solve allowing those offensive rebounds… "Well, we've been working on it. Our guards have to help us. We can't ask much more from Emmitt (Williams). I mean, Emmitt got 11 rebounds. Emmitt did his job. (Darius) Days didn't have his day. We've got to have more from Trendon (Watford), Javonte (Smart) and Skylar (Mays). We've got to have more from those guys. Those guys have got to help us. We're just not that big down there and a lot of the rebounds were long rebounds that our guards have to get." On not being able to hold a lead in the first half… "We got a bunch of stops, but we couldn't get a rebound. That was the problem. We stopped them five or six straight times, but we couldn't rebound the ball. We could never extend our lead and get ourselves a working margin."
           
            **LSU Guard Skylar Mays On what went wrong in the game…
      "First off, ETSU is a quality team. They are well coached, they had a great game plan for us. Honestly, they played way harder than us tonight. Things went right for them and just didn't go right for us." On figuring out everyone's role on the team… "It is a work in progress. We have a young group. We just have to keep chipping at the rock. We have a great coaching staff who is going to do the best they can to put us in the best position for everybody individually and as a team. But it starts with playing hard."


           LSU Forward Emmitt Williams On the rebounding effort…
      "I just try to do my job each and every game. If I am going to rebound, I am going to go in there and try to get each and every rebound. My teammates get me pumped up and I try to get them pumped up to get on the boards and crash." On the energy in the second half… "I am that guy that brings the energy to the team. Even when I am on the bench or on the court, I try to bring energy to my guys even as a high five or a 'good job.' Even if I am not scoring the ball, I say 'good shot.' Those are the things that will help my teammates." ---




12-18-19
By: Terrill J. Weil
     

 12/16/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
​Da Boot Sports!



       BATON ROUGE:  Excitement is at an all-time high right now for every LSU Fighting Tigers fan. Our football team captured the SEC Championship and is ranked #1 in the nation with a 13-0 record. They are in the College Football Playoffs for the first time in school history, and a heavy favorite to advance to, and win the National Championship. Our star, record setting quarterback, Joe Burrow has just won multiple awards, including the Heisman Trophy. Many of us have needed to replenish our kleenex supply after his emotional Heisman speech. When Christmas Eve arrives next week,  several will be nestled in their beds, with visions of Peach Bowl tickets dancing in their heads. Yes, what a wonderful time to be a Tiger fan on the bayou. 
      However, I'm here to remind everyone that it is also college basketball season.  Will Wade, once again, has assembled a pretty impressive group of young men.  The Tigers, (7-2) return to action this Wednesday night at 6pm, as they host East Tennessee State in the PMAC.  The team hasn't played since their 109-59 victory against Northwestern State on December 8th, as they took a break in the schedule for exams.   Coach Wade addressed the media earlier today...   "Big week ahead, it starts with East Tennessee, very very good ball club. They are 8-2 on the year. One of their losses was at Kansas. They're an elite, elite offensive team. They have one of the top 35 offenses in the entire country. They are very efficient and they shoot it well from three.  It's gunna be a big big challenge for us. A chance for us to enhance our resume. We got to get off to faster starts.  Got to get off to a much better start against them, then we have been getting off to. We can't dig ourselves holes.  We have practiced well and we're getting better."  Wade continued to touch on the team's slow starts.  "We're not as locked in mentally and as focused mentally as we need to. We give up way too many easy baskets. We need to be more locked into our game plan and execute it for a full 40 minutes. We got to take the next step and play complete games. That means execute, being focused, being locked in with our attention to detail. Beginning, middle, end. That's from the jump to the last  possession. Every possession matters." 
      Coach Wade also mentioned that they are expecting Marlon Taylor to return tomorrow, and should see limited minutes on Wednesday. The team has been working hard on cutting down on the turnovers and screening harder.   Defensively, they have been practicing some new wrinkles, full & half court to try forcing more turnovers.  Offensively the Tigers are in the top ten in several categories, as all five starters average double digits a game.  This LSU basketball team has very good players. Very talented. When it all finally comes together, they have an opportunity to have a special season.  So please go out and buy your tickets for Wednesday night and pack the PMAC.  


12-16-19
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!
                                 

12/8/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports! 


        BATON ROUGE: LSU took on the Demons from Northwestern State Sunday afternoon in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The young Tigers continue to show improvement in each game this season, as they continue to jell, learn Coach Wade's new motion offense, and cut back on turnovers.  Seven Tigers scored in scored in double digits, including all five starters, as they enjoyed a 109-59 victory.  JeVonte Smart lead the team in scoring with 17 points. Emmitt Williams had a double double, with 16 points & 10 rebounds. Darius Days also contributed 16.  Skylar Mays and Trendon Watford scored 14 each. Aundre Hyatt (10 pts), and James Bishop (11 pts) came off the bench and played quality minutes.  Chudier Bile lead the Demons with 20 points. 
     LSU started the game slowly as they usually do, finally going up 3-0, on a Darius Days three pointer, a minute into the contest. From there, Northwestern State gave the Tigers all they could handle as each team traded baskets in a close game. With 9:24 to go in the first half, the score was tied at 19-19. At that point, the Tigers shifted their game into a new gear, going on a 30 to 7 run, taking complete control of the ball game. Halftime score: LSU 52, NSU 32...
      The game continued to get out of hand, as LSU came out and scored the first seven points of the half, extending their lead to 59-32 and never looked back, as the Tigers cruised the rest of the way.  LSU (7-2), scored their last bucket to go up by 50,  with 29 seconds left in the game.  The Tigers out-rebounded the demons, 47 to 25, and only turned the ball over ten times.  Next up for LSU is East Tennessee State in the PMAC on December 18th.

12/3/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


      BATON ROUGE: LSU used a strong 2nd half to race past New Orleans for a 90-54 win. The victory  runs LSU winning streak at home against non-conference opponents to 14 straight. Emmitt Williams lead the Tigers in scoring as he finished with 18 points & 10 rebounds, for his 2nd double-double of the season. 
      The Tigers (6-2), started slow as they missed their first three shots of the game. They continued to struggle for most of the first half, as they committed six turnovers and were a miserable, 1 of 11 from the arc. A confident Privateers team (3-5), played a solid first half. On offense they had great ball movement as they took and made nice shots. Defensively they took advantage of LSU's outside shooting woes. UNO lead the Tigers 26-20 at the 5:51 mark for their largest lead of the game. Skylar Mays hit a pair of free throws, Charles Manning banked a shot in off the glass, followed by Trendon Watford sinking one of two charity shots to pull within one, 26-25. After a Privateer basket, Watford hit a three to tie the game at 28-28 with 3:54 to go. LSU went on a 18-4 run to finish off the first half, taking a 38-30 lead into the locker room. 
      LSU flexed their muscles from there, as they continue to be a strong second half team. They tightened up their entire game, as they eventually went on a 16-5 run,  then dominated late as they scored 20 straight points to lead 83-48. During that run, Charles Manning added a beautiful one-handed alley-oop jam from a nicely set up Skylar Mays pass. The Privateers continued to play tough, but they were no match for LSU's 2nd half surge.  They allowed LSU to get into a pace that they were comfortable with. The Tigers were much cleaner with the basketball, as they continue to show improvement with committing turnovers. They only had ten for the ball game. The Tigers also picked up the defensive pressure, smothering the Privateers down the stretch. LSU actually held a 40 point lead when Courtese Cooper scored on a dunk with 2:11 to play.  Charles Manning Jr. finished with 13 points, Darius Days & DeVonte Smart had 12 points each, and Aundre Hyatt made his first 3 point shot of his LSU career.  Bryson Robinson lead UNO in scoring with 18 points. 
      The (6-2) Tigers will host Northwestern State on Sunday. Lets fill the PMAC and cheer these Tigers onto another victory.