Entering Saturday’s contest with Boise State, LSU had held four of its last five opponents in the 50s, but the Bronco attack figured to big the toughest challenge to date.
The Tigers (6-3) held them to 45, 40 points below their season average and 17 fewer than any single game this season, in a 64-45 win.
It was a dominant defensive effort.
“Defense has really been our backbone this year,” said junior forward Eddie Ludwig. “It’s what we rely on. We’re proud of that.”
Ludwig drew the assigment of guarding the Broncos’ (8-2) leading scorer, Anthony Drmic, much of the night. The Aussie failed to score a point. It was the first time since the season opener that Drmic didn’t score in double figures.
“We thought (Ludwig) could do a good job of guarding (Drmic),” said LSU Head Coach Trent Johnson. “(Drmic) is quick, and he shoots it from three, but we had a size advantage. We wanted to put as much pressure on them as possible.”
Offensively, it was another balanced attack for LSU. The Tigers put four playrs in double figures and shot 50 percent on the night.
Junior Justin Hamilton scored a game-high 14 points, taking advantage of a Boise State lineup that topped out at 6-feet-8-inches.
Hamilton jumped out of the gate, scoring five points and drawing two fouls in the first 3:12 of the ballgame.
Johnson emphasized post scoring after the game.
“I think it’s big. I think it’s huge. I think it’s important,” Johnson said. “I thought we were very efficient. I thought Justin made some good decisions, and I thought Johnny (O’Bryant) made some good decisions with his catches, too.”
O’Bryant connected on five of his shots, scoring 10 points and collecting seven rebounds.
The Tigers outscored Boise State 43-18 in the paint.
The game was tied five different times in the first half, and the Tigers closed the first period with eight straight points, six from senior forward Storm Warren who has come off the bench for three consecutive games now.
“I don’t look at it as starting or coming off the bench when I get on the floor,” Warren said. “Sitting on the sidelines at the beginning of the game you get a look at what players are doing what.”
The Tigers seized control over a period of just over seven minutes when they outscored the Broncos 13-5 and increased their lead to 46-35 with 7:29 remaining in the game.
From there, the Tigers cruised to the finish line with an array of ally-oops that ignited the home crowd for the first time in 17 days.
“We had those two really nice road wins, but we wanted to come back and show our home fans what we’ve been working on and get a win for them,” Hamilton said.
The Tigers return to action Thurday when they welcome UC-Irvine to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
