BATON ROUGE — The LSU Tigers ran their record to 6-0 over Cal State Fullerton by out rebounding their opponents by 29, getting double figure rebounds from two players, double figure points from four and shutting down everyone around the Titans leading scorer in a convincing 84-63 win Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Tigers, 6-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season, now take 10 days off before suiting up again against Grambling State at 7 p.m. on Dec. 13. The Tigers will have the rest of this week off the practice floor during concentrated study days on the campus in preparation for final exams beginning on Dec. 8.
“This was a good game for us from the standpoint that I felt like all along this was a team that was going to test our reserve and test our veterans. We did a nice job,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson.
The Tigers out rebounded the Titans (3-5) 56-27 and 20-10 on the offensive board. Tasmin Mitchell had a career high 15 rebounds to go with 16 points while Garrett Temple flirted with a triple double for the second straight game with 10 rebounds, eight points and seven assists.
Marcus Thornton led LSU in scoring again with 24 points as Chris Johnson joined Mitchell with 16 points while Bo Spencer had 13. Adding to Mitchell’s double double total were nice numbers of four assists, three blocks and three steals.
The Tigers did dish out 19 assists but that was tempered with 19 turnovers.
Fullerton star Josh Akognon got his average of 23 points, but he had to work for it hitting just eight of 20 shots with Thornton, Temple and Mitchell picking him up at times. He was the only player in double figures for the Titans who shot 36.8 percent from the floor (25-of-68) compared to the 29-of-64 (45.3%) for LSU.
LSU also did a good job of getting to the free throw line, making 21-of-26 attempts compared to just 7-of-12 for the perimeter shooting Titans. LSU scored 42 of its points in the paint compared to 22 for Cal State.
The game was tied three times early and Cal State took its last lead at the 16:42 mark, 9-8, on a three-pointer by Akognon, but Thornton came right back to hit a three of his own to get the lead right back for the Tigers. LSU sprinted away in the waning moments of the first half, with Spencer hitting two treys in the final two minutes to give LSU a 42-31 halftime advantage.
But Fullerton came out of the dressing room and put up a 7-2 mini run that cut the game to 44-38 and forced Coach Johnson to call a quick timeout.
“There was period there at the start of the half that we talked about at the half that Fullerton had played five games in 10 days and we had played three in six and they looked fresher and in better shape than we are and are playing a lot harder. I thought for the most part, our guys came out in the second half after (Cal State Fullerton) scored three baskets in the first three possessions and did a good job of buckling down and keeping their poise,” Coach Johnson said afterwards.
LSU went on a 7-0 run to up the margin to 13 with 13:56 to go and Cal State Fullerton only got the game down under double digits one time the rest of the way as LSU would lead by as much as 24 in the final minute.
It was another test passed for the Tigers with more important ones ahead in the next week.
“The next 11 days are probably the most important from the standpoint of academics,” Johnson reminded the media. “Again, addressing the schedule going into the year, one of the reasons we wanted to have as many home games as possible non-conference were because of our injuries and academic situation. The kids will be off until Dec. 6, which is Saturday and we will come back at 11 a.m., and we will lift on Dec. 5, but we really have to do a good job in the classroom.”
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON QUOTES
Opening statement …
“Well, for the most part, we have done a good job of managing our schedule up until this point. There was period there at the start of the half that we talked about at the half that Fullerton had played five games in 10 days and we had played three in six and they looked fresher and in better shape than we are and are playing a lot harder. I thought for the most part, our guys came out in the second half after (Cal State Fullerton) scored three baskets in the first three possessions and did a good job of buckling down and keeping their poise. This was a good game for us from the standpoint that I felt like all along this was a team that was going to test our reserve and test our veterans. We did a nice job. ”
On having a break for 11 days …
“The next 11 days are probably the most important from the standpoint of academics. Again, addressing the schedule going into the year, one of the reasons we wanted to have as many home games as possible non-conference were because of our injuries and academic situation. The kids will be off until Dec. 6, which is Saturday and we will come back at 11 a.m., and we will lift on Dec. 5, but we really have to do a good job in the classroom.”
On the way LSU played …
“I’m not surprised by anything with this group when they bring their intensity level like it is. Garrett Temple, for example, you are starting to see him being the dominant player he is capable of being without scoring the basketball. There was a period there where he was making every crucial pass, getting crucial stops and crucial rebounds. Tasmin (Mitchell) I thought did a good job of scoring 16 points, but also getting 15 rebounds.
“You have to give them credit. There is way too much of this Trent Johnson nonsense as opposed to these are the ones that are buying in, they are listening, they are the ones playing. Marcus is the one making the commitment to defend and Bo (Spencer) is making some good decisions. I’m a firm believer, I’ve been around this a long time now, that if you defend your rebound with a sense of urgency, you are going to have your opportunity to be in your share of games, especially with our talent level, and to win our share of games.
“Offensively, I know I’ve said this and I’m going to continue to say it even though I know it sounds like a broken record, but kids don’t try to miss shots. They don’t try to miss free throws. That is the one side of the floor where I’m going to let them have freedom at times and play.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
Opening Statement…
“Overall I think we played really good team defense. That’s what wins championships. I know we haven’t won a championship yet, but I think we’re well on our way on to one. We played great team defense, and that’s the only thing on my mind right now. We out-rebounded them.”
On career high rebounds tonight…
“That was my main goal. In the last few games, I haven’t made that many rebounds. I told myself that I was going to try to get everything that came off the rim tonight.”
Opening Statement…
“Like Tasmin (Mithcell) said, we played great team defense. They (Cal State Fullerton) have a player on their team that could really score the ball and put up shots. It’s going to take a team effort to defend him. Marcus (Thornton) was on him a little bit. I was on him a little bit. Terry (Martin) guarded him, and Tasmin had to guard him too. We came out, and defense has been the staple that has helped us win games. We did a great job of defending and also rebounding. I think we had almost 30 rebounds. We came out and played defense and won the game.”
On team balance…
“Team balance is important offensively. We’ve got guys that can score the ball on our team, proven scorers on our team. Marcus (Thornton) is a proven scorer. Tasmin (Mitchell) is. Bo (Spencer) can score the ball at the point. If you have balance like that, it’s very good for your team. On the other hand, you can key in on one guy and have the other guys try to beat you. That’s what we did tonight. They didn’t shoot too well. Like I said, team defense.”
Opening Statement…
“Defense is the key to every game. We’re just going to try to help each other, and that’s what we did tonight. We played good team defense, and it worked out. They (Cal State Fullerton) had a great scorer, and we all took turns defending him throughout the game.”
On progression from last game…
“It was on the defensive end for me. The team had a great scorer. We’ve been watching their (Cal State Fullerton) film for the last few days, and he (Josh Akognon) was the one that was shooting the ball the most. Garrett, Tasmin, and I had to put in our head that we were going to stop him, and that’s what we tried to do. We knew the offense was going to come. We put more emphasis on defense and rebounds.”
CAL STATE FULLERTON HEAD COACH BOB BURTON
On LSU’s play in the post and rebounding…
“I thought they did a terrific job in two areas: first in scoring inside, but also really working in some offensive rebounds. They just annihilated us, which we’ve had happen throughout the year and is a major problem. I thought their inside guys really did a terrific job for them, but what also makes them good is their perimeter guys because you’re really concentrating on them and you can’t get off them too much. I thought there was no question about it, the game was really won in the trenches.”
On not capitalizing on LSU’s turnovers…
“We weren’t able to capitalize on the turnovers. It was too bad. We wanted to pressure them, but I think it just came down to so many second chances. I don’t think they shot a great percentage against us, but they just had so many rebounds and we fouled them. The number of foul shots they made versus what we shot tells the story. You look at the game and you look at the rebounds and the foul shots. They were getting the ball inside and they were getting the ball in a position where we would foul them and then they were getting a lot of chances because their offensive rebounding was so good.”
On how his team played offensively…
“Awful, and I think they had a lot to do with that. I think they played really good defense. They’re really solid. We had one player scoring for us and that was it. We were really bad offensively, but a lot of that has to do with the way they play defense. They really changed the way we played. The other night we shot 56 percent against Charlotte and the difference is how they defended us versus how Charlotte defended us. We can score, but our offense hasn’t been very good. I thought that all the credit should go to their defense. They’re really doing the right things and I think if they continue to buy in with what this coaching staff wants, then good things are going to happen for them.”