BATON ROUGE — After a 25 minute pregame ceremony to retire Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 33, there was still a game to play. Five minutes into the second half, the game had turned into a blowout as LSU defeated in-state rival UNO, 84-57, on Saturday night in the Maravich Assembly Center.
By Ryan Rogers
LSUsports.net
Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey was retired in a pregame ceremony at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. O’Neal spoke to the Tiger faithful and proclaimed his thanks for the wonderful treatment he received by the LSU community during his tenure at LSU. He added that his experience at LSU was the best years of his life.
On hand for the ceremony were President of the LSU system William Jenkins, Chancellor Mark Emmert, Athletic Director Joe Dean, former LSU head basketball coach Dale Brown, O’Neal’s mother Lucile Harrison and several of O’Neal’s former teammates.
After the game went back-and-forth, LSU closed out the half with a 15-5 run and headed into the lockerroom with a 38-25 lead.
LSU picked up right where it left off, going on a 27-7 run to begin the second half.
One key to the Tigers’ success was shooting 45 percent from the arc. LSU was hot from three-point range all night.
At one point the Tigers led by 41 points, 80-39, with 6:00 remaining in the game.
LSU had five players in double figures. Collis Temple led the way with 19 points and three rebounds. Dupree added 18 points followed by Beshara with 17 points, Bright with 13 points and Roland added 10 points.
LSU added the mystique of the evening by opening up the game in style. Torris Bright nailed a three pointer that began a 7-2 run.
Defensively, the Tigers showed a new look. LSU played a match-up zone against the Privateers.
After the Tigers jumped out to a quick lead, UNO came storming back. Baskets from Tory Walker and Ben Adams, propelled UNO to take a 14-2 lead at the 13:10 mark. The UNO run was culminated by a three-point play courtesy of Ben Adams.
LSU was hot from the three-point line in the first half. Collis Temple swooshed a three pointer to give LSU the lead again, 15-14, ending the Privateer run. Bright converted his third three-point basket at the 10:56 mark giving LSU a 19-17 lead.
Turnovers haunted both teams in the first half. UNO committed 15 while LSU turned the ball over seven times. LSU cleaned up their act in the second half but UNO continued to struggle as they finished the game with 27 turnovers.
LSU improved to 6-0 as they head into a crucial game on the road against highly ranked Arizona. UNO fell to 5-3.