The LSU Basketball team got back on the winning side of things after a crushing defeat from Oklahoma on Saturday night. And they did it in a big way on Tuesday night against Auburn (9-12, 3-6 SEC) with an 80-68 win.
LSU and Auburn started out exchanging the lead a few times, but LSU went on a 7-0 run in the final three minutes of the first half to make it a double digit lead with about 90 seconds left. However, Auburn was able respond with a 7-2 run to make it a seven-point deficit at the half.
Freshman Ben Simmons was a big reason why LSU took a commanding lead in the opening half, scoring 17 of their 38 points in the second half.
LSU continued to assert their dominance in the second half with a 10-4 run to open the second half to once again make it a double-digit lead. Auburn got within 10 points late, but that was about as close as they got.
Simmons led the Tigers with 21 points, 13 boards, seven assists, one block, and two steals on the night. The other big man for the Tigers in Craig Victor was behind Simmons with 13 points and eight boards.
Bryce Brown led Auburn with 18 points, all of which came from the arc. Brown also had five boards and two assists on the night.
The LSU Tigers will return to the PMAC on Saturday night to take on Mississippi State with tipoff set for 5 pm.
-Clint Domingue