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LSU enjoys first road victory in routing Ole Miss, 83-51
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It was one thing for the LSU basketball team to beat Ole Miss, as it did Saturday. It was another thing for the Tigers to dismantle the Rebels, 83-51.
Not only did LSU easily give new coach Trent Johnson his first road victory, but the Tigers handed the Rebels their worst loss since a 97-53 loss to LSU in 2000. LSU advanced to the Sweet 16 that year.
Even with injuries having left Ole Miss short-handed, the Tigers’ romp was totally unexpected. They split their first two Southeastern Conference games after a resounding loss at Utah, and LSU figured to be competitive, at best.
Instead, the Tigers shot to a 12-0 lead and never let up. At one point they held a 19-2 advantage en route to a 41-18 halftime lead. The Rebels trailed by as many as 26 points in the first half.
Ole Miss’ Cotton Bowl champion football team was honored at halftime, but nothing could swing momentum in the Rebels’ favor. LSU handed out 19 assists for the game and committed just a season-low five turnovers.
Senior Garrett Temple tied a career-high with nine assists while scoring 14 points. Joining him in double figures were fellow seniors Tasmin Mitchell, Marcus Thornton and Bo Spencer.
Temple, Thornton and Spencer all are from Baton Rouge, with Mitchell from nearby Denham Springs. They’ve started every game, as has junior center Chris Johnson, whose dunk gave LSU its largest lead at 73-36 with 6:08 left.
Mitchell scored a team-high 17 points, with Thornton totaling 13 and Spencer 12. LSU scored 21 points off turnovers.
After improving to 14-3 overall, LSU will prepare for a visit from Mississippi State on Wednesday before entertaining nationally ranked Xavier in a non-conference intersectional showdown next Saturday. Ole Miss fell to 10-7 and 1-2.
Only two Rebels scored in double figures, with Terrico White hitting a career high for the second consecutive game. White finished with 22 points. David Huertas, who was averaging a team-high 19 points per game, was held to four points on 2-of-12 shooting.
“Obviously we played very well, and I don’t know if we can play a better first half,” Trent Johnson said. “We’ve been frustrated with how we’ve played on the road, and this is good for us.”
“Our intensity level was really good,” Mitchell said, “and we kept on coming and kept on coming. Ole Miss is better then what this scored showed.”
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