LSU men's basketball overcomes slow start in 98-81 win over FIU

After leading by just five at half, LSU shot 60 percent from the field and 16-of-24 from inside the arc to pull away with a 98-81 victory over FIU on Thursday night in the PMAC. Matt McMahon’s team improves to 3-0 on the year with another resounding victory, once again dominating the paint.

The Tigers after making 13-of-14 in the first half at the free throw line, made 17-of-20 in the final 20 minutes to finish at 30-of-34 (88.2%).

LSU used a 13-1 run in the opening half to build a 22-9 lead with 12;28 to go in the opening stanza, before the Panthers began weaving through the LSU defense for some easy layups. FIU tied the game at 26 and 28 but never took the lead.

In the second half, the Tigers used a 14-3 to go up 17 points, 63-46, with 12:19 to play in the game. LSU pushed the lead to 20 at 69-49 and led by as much as 22 points with 10 minutes to play.

LSU finished with five players in double figures with Marquel Sutton leading the way with 19 points and his second straight double double with 12 rebounds. Sutton was 6-of-11 from the field with three treys and 4-of-4 from the line. Also with 19 points was Mike Nwoko who played most of the final 11 minutes with four fouls and had some of his best basketball during that period.

Nwoko finished 6-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line.

Max Mackinnon posted his second double figure game in the first three with 17 points, while Dedan Thomas Jr., had 15 points and six assists. Jalen Reed made it three straight double figure games in his return to play this season with 10 points.

For the game, LSU shot 52.5 percent (32-of-61), although LSU struggled from distance, making just 4-of-17 (23.5%).

FIU finished at 42.3 percent from the field (30-of-71), making 8-of-26 three-pointers (30.8%). The Panthers were 13-of-21 (61.9%) from the line.

Two players combined for 49 of FIU’s 81 points with Corey Stephenson getting 25 points and 10 rebounds and Julian Mackey adding 24 points. The pair combined for six three pointers and 9-of-10 at the line.

LSU had a 50-38 advantage in points in the paint, 30-18, in the second half as LSU led for 35:49 of the contest.

Five players – Sutton, Nwoko, Mackinnon, Thomas and Robert Miller III – combined to make all 30 free throws and were the only players with free throw attempts for LSU.

The Tigers will be back at home for two games next week, hosting Alcorn State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and on Friday, Nov. 21, the Tigers will host Omaha at 7 p.m. Those will be the final two home games for almost a month before the Tigers play four neutral site games and a road contest in the middle of that five-game stretch.

Tickets are available at LSUTix.net.

*LSU press release

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LSU postgame quotes

LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon  
Opening Statement  
“It was a great win for our guys. I was glad we faced some adversity in the first half. FIU has great speed and quickness on the perimeter that gave us some problems and good athleticism and length in the frontcourt. I thought that bothered us early around the rim. Overall, to come out the gates in the second half with a great response, stretching out the lead into the twenties and finishing the game off was a good step for us. I’m glad we were challenged with their speed and athleticism.”

On (LSU Forward Marquel) Sutton’s Impact …
“It’s hard to take him off the floor because we can play him at the three and play our bigs up front. Because he shoots so well, it still works fine from a spacing standpoint. Where he really deserves a lot of credit since he got here is his three-point shooting. Initially, it was a lot of catch-and-shoot threes. Now, he’s flying off staggered screens and baseline screens and shooting with a lot of confidence. We had to have him on the floor tonight. He impacts winning in every phase of the game.”

On the team’s dominance in the paint …   
“It’s the way we want to play. We want to play with physicality and take advantage of our size in the frontcourt. We knew with FIU, they were forcing over 20 turnovers a game. They were top 25 in the country last year in forcing turnovers and that would present some problems for us. But they’re also foul prone because of how hard they play and the scrambles they put you in. I thought our guys did a tremendous job staying composed. Fourteen turnovers is till too many, but to get to the free-throw line 34 times and make 30 of them will put you in a good position to win every time.”

LSU Guard Dedan Thomas Jr.
On improving in the second half…
“Obviously we are going to go through halves like that, but it’s good for the team to face adversity especially early in the season. But I love the way we responded in the second half after Coach (Matt McMahon) got on us about energy and hustle.

On great free-throw shooting…
“Coach McMahon loved it 100%. He expects us to get to the line that much. It’s posted on the board in pregame. Coach wants us to make more free throws than the opponent attempts and that starts with pushing the basketball, getting to the rim, and drawing fouls.

LSU Forward Mike Nwoko
On the second-half response to adversity…
“It’s good to know that we can pull through after situations didn’t go our way. We’re going to face adversity no matter the case, so being able to push through will help us in the long run.”

On overall team performance…
“I feel like we are better than that. We just have to assess the film because it was a bad performance.”