BATON ROUGE — – Javonte Smart scored 25 points, and Darius Days collected a double-double to help LSU secure an 88-66 victory over Sam Houston State in front of almost 60 people at Maravich Assembly Center on Monday. BOX SCORE (PDF)
Smart, a junior guard, shot 11 of 15 from the field and made three 3-pointers while grabbing six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 33 minutes.
Assistant coach Bill Armstrong took charge of the game for LSU in the absence of head coach Will Wade because of COVID-19 and contact tracing issues.
“Without Coach Wade and without Trendon Watford – Javonte Smart stepped up and got the team to do what they needed to do,” Armstrong said.
“Obviously, we got contributions from everybody else, with Cameron Thomas and Darius Days with a double-double. Cam really stepped up in the second half of the game and made good plays, and Joshua Leblanc on the defense.”
Days recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and shot 6 of 12 from the floor, while Cameron Thomas, who leads the team in scoring this season, had 19 points with three rebounds on Monday for the Tigers (4-1), who won three straight at home.
“We found out that Coach Wade was not going to be with us a couple days ago. Something happened to Trendon (Watford) in practice the other day,” said Days.
“Charles (Manning Jr.) came and played today. (Josh) LeBlanc came and played today. We didn’t have any downfall because some of the guys weren’t here or because Coach (Wade) wasn’t here
Josh LeBlanc grabbed a season-high eight rebounds for LSU, which shot 48.5% on 33 of 68 attempts from the field.
“Not having Coach Wade and not having Trendon (Watford). We had to fit a few pieces together to come up with the win today. All I can say is we won in the end. I’m just happy to win,” Smart said.
Senior guard Demarkus Lampley paced Sam Houston State with 16 points and Zach Nutall added 13 points in the defeat.
The Bearkats (3-4) opened the season with three straight defeats, but went on to win the next three games entering this fixture.
Today’s defeat saw them falling below .500 on the season again.
Next up for Sam Houston State is a trip to face the No. 11 Texas Longhorns at Frank Erwin Center on Wednesday.
LSU will also return to action on Wednesday when and will stay in Baton Rouge. The Tigers take on the New Orleans Privateers at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Box Score
SAM HOUSTON ST. (3-4)
Crump 2/3 0-0 4, Ikpe 3-5 2-2 8, Lampley 6-15 2-2 16, May 3-4 3-3 9, Nutall 3-12 5-6 13, Jar.Cook 3-9 0-0 9, Powers 0-3 0-0 0, Monroe 2-9 0-0 5, Scroggins 1-1 0-2 2, T.Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Robertson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-63 12-15 66.
LSU (4-1)
Days 6-12 2-2 16, Wilkinson 3-3 0-1 6, Manning 2-10 0-0 4, Smart 11-15 0-0 25, C.Thomas 5-17 7-8 19, LeBlanc 2-2 1-2 5, Jal.Cook 3-4 2-2 9, Gaines 0-3 2-2 2, Hyatt 1-2 0-0 2, Penn-Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-68 14-17 88.
Halftime–LSU 45-37. 3-Point Goals–Sam Houston St. 8-32 (Jar.Cook 3-9, Lampley 2-7, Nutall 2-9, Monroe 1-4, Powers 0-3), LSU 8-24 (Smart 3-5, Days 2-7, C.Thomas 2-8, Jal.Cook 1-1, Gaines 0-1, Manning 0-2). Rebounds–Sam Houston St. 28 (Ikpe 6), LSU 46 (Days 10). Assists–Sam Houston St. 13 (May 5), LSU 14 (Smart 5). Total Fouls–Sam Houston St. 19, LSU 17. A–55 (13,215).
