Stringer's 19 helps LSU defeats New Orleans 81-54

Nov 19, 2013, 10:34 pm

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Andre Stringer scored 19 points and Jordan Mickey recorded his third consecutive double-double as LSU defeated New Orleans 81-54 in a non-conference game Tuesday.

Stringer, who missed all six of his field goal attempts in the first half, scored all of his points after halftime. Stringer was 7-of-12 from the field in the second half. Mickey, a freshman, finished with a season-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

Shavon Coleman added 14 points for LSU (2-1). Cory Dixon was the leading scorer for the Privateers (1-1) with 18 points. No other New Orleans player had more than eight points.

LSU never trailed in the first half, but its performance was far from efficient. The Tigers made just 29 percent of their field goal attempts (10-of-34). Moreover, LSU missed all seven of its 3-point attempts and committed seven turnovers.

The Tigers put together one nice run to open up an 11-point advantage at 22-11 near the midway point of the opening half. Coleman made a couple of baskets during the stretch in which LSU outscored UNO 8-2.

However, the Tigers then went almost seven minutes without a field goal which permitted the Privateers to reduce their deficit. A 3-pointer by Matt Derenbecker pulled UNO within four points at 26-22 with 3:36 remaining in the first half.

The Privateers trailed by only two points at 30-28 after Dixon sank two foul shots with 1:01 before halftime. Mickey, who had nine first-half points, made two free throws to give the Tigers a 32-28 halftime lead.

LSU opened the second half in a full-court press to speed up the tempo. The Tigers scored 12 points in a 90-second span to take a 44-31 lead. Stringer made his first three baskets, including two 3-pointers, in that stretch. UNO trailed by no fewer than eight points the rest of the game.