LSU easily dominates Louisiana Tech, 86-55

Photo By: LSU/SEC

12/6/2020
By: Jordan Taylor
Da Boot Sports!



    The LSU Tiger Basketball team (2-1)  would welcome an undefeated Louisiana Tech Bulldogs team (3-0) to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for a Sunday afternoon instate contest. With COVID guidelines still in play the Tigers would again play in front of a small 25% capacity crowd. 
    LSU would cruise to a 86-55 blow out win, dominating from start to finish. The victory would also make four straight games in which the Tigers have scored over 80+ points.
    The Bulldogs were simply overmatched tonight as LSU would control the glass, out rebounding the LA Tech and would have a solid shooting night, hitting big shots in key moments.
    After the victory Head Coach Will Wade said he was impressed with the way his team
played zone &  press tonight, but wasn't happy with the 15 turnovers that were committed.
  "Days did a heck of a job shooting outside early to open up lanes for driving to the basket." said Trenton Watford, while Days would mention that his healthy eating habits has him much more fit and is a huge part of his success in playing defense this year committing less fouls.  Javonte Smart made the statement afterwards about the return of Charles Manning, saying he brings a lot of energy and we're happy to have him back.
 
Below is our "DA BOOT SPORTS" Game Recap....


          1st HALF:

    The LA Tech Bulldogs would control the opening tip. Neither team would score until the 18:41 mark as Cameron Thomas would hit 1-2 from the free throw line. Tech would quickly tie things up at 1-1 before Javonte Smart would hit a shot from behind the arc, giving the Tigers an early 4-1 lead.
    Will Wade would have the Tigers put pressure on the Bulldogs early and often staying in full court press, which has been a team strength so far this season. 
    Tech would play with energy early on, evening things up at 5-5 five minutes into the contest
before Darius Days would heat up from three point land hitting from behind the arc on three straight possessions as the Tigers would slowly begin to pull away. 
    At the 9:34 mark, LSU would take their first double digit lead, 20-10 on a jumper by Days who would continue to play a strong first half. From there, the Tigers would out score the Bulldogs 23 to 14 the rest of half.
     LSU would lead by as much as 21 thanks to great defensive play limiting Tech to only 9 of 29 from the floor, 31% shooting, while the Tigers would shot a healthy 48% from the floor, 12 of 25 as well as heating up from three point land shooting 7 of 12 from behind the arc. 
     The Tigers would take a big 43-24 lead into half time dominating almost every category in the first half.  Smart and Days both lead LSU in scoring at the break with 11 points each. 



          2nd HALF:
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    The second half would start with Cameron Thomas making an easy bucket as LSU would build a 23 point lead, 47-24 only two minutes into the half. The Tigers would then find themselves playing sloppy offensively for a few minutes allowing Tech to cut the lead to 14 with 10:18 to go in the contest before cleaning things up and slowly begin to pull away again.  
     LSU would go on a 14-4 run for over the next five minutes of play, extending their lead to 71-47 as Coach Wade would begin to pull starters and empty the bench giving new faces plenty of playing time experience. 
     The Tigers would lead by as much as 33 points over the final five minutes of the ball game
finishing off Louisiana Tech, 86-55...




    The Tigers had two games this week with similar results as LSU would continue to show that this team could be very special. They play good defense and have explosive scorers.
    Besides the turnovers, lack of assist, and giving up too many offensive rebounds, you can't really find much to complain about from this impressive win over a tough LA Tech team.
    We're seeing quality minutes off the bench from names like Cook, O'Neil, and Gaines that
is keeping names like Watford, Days, and Smart fresh to be able to close out games late. 
   The Tigers keep showing improvement closing out on shooters from behind the three point line as they held the Bulldogs to 5-29 from three point land. 
    Trendon Watford led the scoring tonight for the Tigers with 18 points. 10 of those coming from the free throw line. He also added 8 rebounds to his night. Cameron Thomas & Javonta Smart added 16 points each.
    Overall the Tigers had a good night shooting going 54% from the floor as we seen five Tigers score in double digits tonight. They would finish 8-20 from three point land for 40%. The Tigers started out struggling at the free throw line but ended up with a decent night there shooting 26-34 for 77%. 
    Defensively the Tigers played well.  42 rebounds, 7 steals, 4 blocks, and scoring 14 points off
turnovers. Another step in the right direction for this young team as they are now 3-1 on the season.
   Next up, the Tigers travel to Atlanta, Georgia for the 2020 Holiday Hoopsgiving against
South Florida on Saturday Dec 12th for a 1:30 pm tip off. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+ or listen on 98.1 FM

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Photos By: LSU/SEC