CHARLESTON, S.C. – LSU scored the first nine points out of the dressing room and then used a 16-0 run to seal a 76-57 win over Western Kentucky in the consolation round of the Charleston Classic Friday afternoon at the TD Arena.
The win puts LSU (2-2) in the fifth-place game at 1:30 p.m. CST on Sunday against the winner of the late game Friday night between first-day losers VCU and Georgia Tech. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the LSU Sports Radio Network.
Junior Justin Hamilton hit 5-of-10 field goal attempts and 8-of-8 free throws to led LSU in scoring with 18 points and just missing his first double double with nine rebounds. Anthony Hickey had 17 points with seven boards and four assists. Western Kentucky was led by Kevin Kaspar with 15 while Nigel Snipes had 13 off the bench.
LSU defeated Western Kentucky (now 1-3) twice in two major sports in the span of seven days, having defeated the Hilltoppers last Saturday in football in Baton Rouge and then the win over WKY Friday in men’s basketball.
The first half was one of the strangest and quirkiest that courtside observers could remember as LSU went to the free throw line twice in the first 19 seconds without either team taking a shot. Western Kentucky failed to put its lineup in the book by the required rule book time of 10 minutes and was assessed a technical foul which gave Hamilton two free throws before the jump ball was tossed giving LSU a 2-0 lead.
Just 19 seconds later, the Western Kentucky bench was given a technical foul and Hamilton made two more free throws to make it 4-0 LSU.
From there, the first 20 minutes just crawled along with a combined 24 turnovers, 31 free throws (which the teams made 27), seven ties and eight lead changes as LSU would fall behind by eight before going to the intermission with a 40-38 halftime advantage despite LSU not hitting a field goal for the first 7:45 of the game.
Out of the break, the Tigers seemed to have the most energy and a renewed attack as Storm Warren hit a jumper on the first possession and hit a second jumper after a defensive stop by LSU to advance the lead to six. Hamilton hit two free throws and a three-pointer by Hickey put the lead at 49-38 with 16:34 to go in the game.
But the dagger for the Hilltoppers came after cutting the game to 51-45 just under the 15-minute mark, LSU went on a 16-0 run that lasted just over seven minutes when Malcolm White hit a free throw to put the lead at 67-45 with 7:54 to play. Western Kentucky never got closer than 17 the rest of the way.
“That’s our third game in four days so we were a little tired,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson. “I thought our bench did a good job. We got some good contributions from Chris Bass, Malcolm White, John Isaac, Eddie Ludwig, Jalen Courtney. I thought all those guys did a good job coming off the bench giving us some energy. Defensively, we went to a 2-3 zone and I think that took (Western Kentucky) out of rhythm a little bit. That’s a team that is explosive, quick and plays extremely hard and physical. That’s a good win for us.”
Bass, who didn’t play against Northwestern, was on the floor for 15 minutes with three points and three assists, while White played 12 minutes with six points. Isaac had three points in 19 minutes as all 12 players played in the game. Warren finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
The game also turned for LSU in the second half at the free throw line where LSU was 18-of-24 (75.0%) at the line. Western Kentucky was 14-of-14 in the first half but just 4-of-13 (30.8%) at the stripe in the final 20 minutes). LSU, which shot 41.3% from the field, out rebounded Western Kentucky, 46-34, with 19 offensive rebounds.
Coach Johnson had praise for Hickey, his freshman point guard who shined in scoring and distributing.
“I thought he did a very good job today,” Johnson said. “He made good decisions. He was able to sometimes slow things down and get us in to something. He has good quickness, but it’s about knowing when to push and when to make good decisions. (Western Kentucky was) very physical with him and I thought the way he kept his composure was very good.”
“We just had to stay solid the first and second half,” Hickey said after the game. “We just have to stay solid and move forward every day. Coach Johnson told us we need to come out better at the start of the half and learn how to finish the game. As a point guard I just tried to stay solid and be a leader out there. I penetrated a little bit at the start of the half and got Storm (Warren) going and everything started falling in place. Justin hit some big shots and we all played together.”
Near the end of the game, Johnson was down at the end of the bench after taking Hickey out of the game, slapping him on the knee and showing his pleasure with his effort.
“I was just telling him (at the end) he did a good job running the team, keeping his composure and getting this behind us,” said the LSU Coach smiling. “Now these guys get half-a-day off and they don’t have to look or listen to me and that is a good thing.”
The Tigers will have a noon EST practice at The Citadel on Saturday in preparation for the final day of the event on Sunday. LSU’s next home game is Wednesday against South Carolina at 7 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on CST. Tickets are available at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office and online at LSUtix.net.
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