Donovan Dent and Saliou Niang had double-doubles, four teammates also scored in double figures and LSU dominated from start to finish in a 100-57 victory against LSU New Orleans in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Dent finished with 19 points and 10 assists, Niang had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Michael Ruzic scored 17, Brice Dessert had 13, Abdi Bashir Jr. had 11 and Mo Dioubate added 10 for the Tigers in the first game of head coach Will Wade’s second tenure with the program.
Yohandry Ortiz scored 16 points as the only Privateer in double figures.
LSU led by 36 points at halftime and began the second half with an 11-0 run that produced a 64-17 lead before Nick Jones made a free throw for the Privateers’ first point of the half.
The lead grew to 50 points before Alan Shi made a layup for LSU New Orleans’ first field goal 7 1/2 minutes into the half. LSU’s biggest lead was 84-30 after consecutive Bashir threes.
Four Tigers combined for the first 10 points of the game while the Privateers turned the ball over five times and missed their first five shots. Ezenwa Nwakamma ended the LSU New Orleans drought by converting a three-point play, but LSU responded with eight straight points for an 18-3 lead.
The Tigers expanded the lead to 21 points twice before Ortiz ended the Privateers’ seven-minute field-goal drought with just their second field goal during the first 12 minutes, leaving LSU with a 27-8 edge.
Dent made two free throws and a 3-pointer, Dessert had a layup and a dunk and Niang added two dunks during a 13-0 run that extended the Tigers’ margin to 40-8.
Kahlil Singleton ended the run by making LSU New Orleans’ only made 3-pointer in 12 first-half attempts, but LSU scored the next six points for a 35-point edge. Kedrick Osby scored the Privateers’ final six first-half points and Divine Ugochukwu scored the Tigers’ last four, leaving LSU with a 53-17 halftime lead.