Stringer helps LSU defeat UNO

LSU coach Johnny Jones was far from happy with his team’s performance in the first half of its game against New Orleans on Tuesday.
The Tigers were involved in a tight game with the Privateers for 20 minutes before coming alive after halftime. Sparked by Andre Stringer with 19 second-half points, LSU pulled away for an 81-54 victory against New Orleans.
The Tigers held just a four-point advantage at the half. But, LSU (2-1) opened the second half with a 12-3 run to take control of the game. Jordan Mickey began the outburst with a dunk and two foul shots. Stringer then made three baskets, including two 3-pointers, to give the Tigers a 44-31 lead.
The Privateers trailed by no fewer than eight points the remainder of the game. After shooting just 29 percent (10-of-34) in the first half, LSU made 48 percent (19-of-40) of its field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes.
“I’m disappointed in our effort from the tip,” Jones said. “I didn’t think we came out as focused and with the intensity level we needed. UNO took advantage of our lack of aggressiveness that we had early on. We came out in the second half with a little bit more pop about us - a little bit tougher defensively.”
Stringer, who missed all six of his field goal attempts in the first half, was scoreless at halftime. He was 7-of-12 from the field in the second half. Mickey, a freshman, recorded his third straight double-double with a season-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.
“We just weren’t playing tough enough in the first half,” Stringer said. “We weren’t defending and we turned the ball over. We didn’t play our style of basketball. We wanted to come out aggressive in the second half. We came out with a little fire, but we should have started the game with that passion.”
Shavon Coleman added 14 points for LSU. Cory Dixon was the leading scorer for the Privateers (1-1) with 18 points. No other New Orleans player had more than eight points.
“It’s a tale of two halves, not to be cliché,” New Orleans coach Mark Slessinger said. “We came out of the gate and played really well. In the second half, they went off on a quick 6-0 run. Then, it took us a while to get our legs back and recover. We just stopped attacking and stopped taking good shots.”
LSU never trailed in the first half, but its performance was far from efficient. 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.