Marquel Sutton knocked down three 3-pointers during a 19-point, nine-rebound performance, Michael Nwoko added 18 points on a night he went a perfect 6 for 6 from the field and LSU prevailed with a 78-65 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night at the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, La.
The Tigers (10-1), who are receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, have won consecutive games since suffering their only loss to then-No. 19 Texas Tech on Dec. 7.
Max Mackinnon and Dedan Thomas Jr. both finished with 14 points apiece for LSU, which improved to 6-0 at home.
LSU jumped in front early in the first half, going on a 20-2 run to build a 23-6 lead. The stretch featured 3-pointers by Sutton and Mackinnon and was capped with a layup by Mackinnon at the 13:06 mark.
Southeastern Louisiana kept it within reason throughout, though, hitting five 3s after LSU’s run in the first half. Peter Hemschemeier and Makhi Myles each made two 3s, and Jalen Forrest connected on the other, as the Lions trailed 50-36 at half.
LSU extended its lead to as many as 18 in the second half, going up 61-43 on a second-chance layup by Sutton with just under 14 minutes left. However, Southeastern Louisiana responded with a 9-0 run, pulling within 61-52 on a layup by Myles with 10 minutes left.
The Lions (4-8) got within single digits a couple of other times but never within a possession. LSU used a 7-0 spurt, capped with a 3 by Sutton, to take a 72-57 lead with just under six minutes left. Sutton made one more 3 down the stretch.
As a team, LSU finished 9 of 22 from deep and shot 54.3% from the field. Southeastern Louisiana shot 42.9% from the field but went 6 of 25 (24%) from long range.
Hemschemeier and Myles led the Lions with 15 points each.
Up next, LSU hosts Prairie View A&M on Monday. SE Louisiana has a break before returning to action at Incarnate Word on Dec. 30.
–Field Level Media
