Box Score

Postgame Interview with Ron Cottrell (video)

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU's 13-0 run midway through the first half provided enough cushion for the Tigers to come away with a 75-58 victory over Houston Baptist in non-conference basketball Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
 
Sophomore guard Tyler Russell went 5-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line to lead the Huskies (4-8) with 15 points to go along with four assists. Freshman guard Caleb Crayton added a season-high 11 points and eight rebounds, while freshman forward Dauson Womack also tied for the team lead with eight boards. Freshman forward Cody Joyce had eight points and seven rebounds off the bench in only 17 minutes.
 
Shavon Coleman, Andre Stringer and Jalen Courtney each had 11 points for LSU (8-2). Coleman had a game-high 13 rebounds for a double-double, while Courtney had seven boards. Charles Carmouche, Andrew Del Piero, Eddie Ludwig and Malik Morgan all had nine points apiece.
 
LSU shot 43 percent from the field for the game, including 5-of-13 from 3-point range, and made 18-of-26 from the free-throw line. HBU shot 33 percent from the field, but missed all seven of its 3-point attempts, and sank 14-of-19 from the line, including all seven in the second half. The Tigers outrebounded the Huskies, 48-39, but the Huskies only turned the ball over 12 times, compared to the Tigers' 14.
 
LSU scored the first seven points of the game 1:14 in, but the Huskies held the Tigers scoreless for four minutes and made the score 7-4. LSU scored five more to go up by eight, but Thomas banked in a jumper, Russell went in strong for a layup and Gales sank a free throw to get HBU back to within three at 12-9.
 
The Tigers then went on a 13-0 run as Morgan and Collins hit back-to-back threes, Morgan and Coleman each made a free throw, then Stringer made a runner and a 3-pointer to make the score 25-9 with 8:10 remaining. The lid finally came off the rim for the Huskies over the final eight minutes as they were able to trim the Tigers' lead to nine at 34-25 with a little over a minute left. LSU took a 36-25 lead into the break.
 
Russell led HBU with seven points, while Stringer had 11 for LSU in the half. The Tigers shot 41 percent in the half, while holding the Huskies to 27 percent.
 
After a runner off the glass by Russell made the score 39-29, LSU outscored HBU, 12-2, to push the advantage to 51-31 with 13:48 remaining. Joyce made a 3-point play and freshman guard Rob Lewis hit a pair of free throws to make it a 15-point game.
 
The Tigers led by as many as 21 three times in the second half, but the Huskies finished with a flurry of made field goals to get the final deficit under 20.
 
The Huskies return home to squeeze in one more game before the new year, as they host Army Monday at 2:05 p.m. at Sharp Gym.