Wofford Terriers at LSU Tigers

LSU beats Wofford 91-69 in season opener

The Tigers trailed the Terriers 43-39 at halftime. However, LSU dominated the second half by outscoring Wofford 52-26. After shooting 53 percent from the field (17 of 32) before halftime, the Terriers made just 21 percent of their field-goal attempts (7 of 33) in the final 20 minutes.

Reath, a junior-college transfer who was playing his first game for the Tigers, made all six of his field-goal attempts in the second half. Reath, a 6-foot-10 center, was also 4 of 6 at the foul line after halftime. Reath grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, blocked three shots made three steals.

"Our two point guards (Skylar Mays and Jalyn Patterson) have a really high basketball IQ," Reath said. "So, it's really important that I always stay alert and keep my hands ready. Our perimeter defense made it really easy for me and Aaron (Epps). We had size already. We had to learn to take advantage of that."

Epps had 17 points, all but four in the first half. Wayde Sims came off the bench and scored 13 points. Antonio Blakeney and Mays each had 10.

After tying at 51-51 on a layup by Reath, the Tigers went on a 12-0 run to take control of the game. Reath scored five of those 12 points. Wofford never trailed by fewer than 10 the rest of the game.

"I'm really proud of the guys and how they hung in there in the first half," LSU coach Johnny Jones said. "They came back out in the second half and did a great job of being connected and not getting their heads down. We got off to a great start in the second half and did a good job of not looking back."

Reserve Nathan Hoover was the leading scorer for Wofford with 18 points. Both Cameron Jackson and Fletcher Magee added 14 points, while Eric Garcia had 13. Wofford made just one 3-pointer in the second half after connecting on seven before halftime.

"We played a pretty good ballgame in the first half," Wofford coach Mike Young said. "Coach Jones and his staff made a couple of adjustments coming out of the locker room to start the second half that hurt us a little bit. They gave us a couple of looks offensively that we didn't handle very well."

BIG PICTURE

LSU: The Tigers won their 28th straight season opener at home with the last defeat coming at the hands of TCU to begin the 1986-87 campaign. The 22-point margin of victory was the largest in a LSU season opener in five seasons when it beat Nicholls State 96-74.

Wofford: The Terriers have won just one season opener since they joined Division I for the 1995-96 season. That victory came against Fairleigh Dickinson 11 years ago. Wofford's record against Southeastern Conference teams fell to 3-43.

TURNING POINT

LSU fell behind Wofford 37-28 just under three-minute mark of the first half. The Terriers made three more field goals before halftime, but the Tigers were able to reduce their deficit to four points on the strength of three 3-pointers by Epps. In his career, Epps never had made more than two 3-pointers in a game.

BIG FIRST GAME

Hoover, a freshman, began his career by scoring a team-high 18 points. Hoover was 5 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. Like his teammates, Hoover had trouble knocking down shots after halftime. He missed four of his five second-half field goal attempts.

UP NEXT

LSU: The Tigers will continue a season-opening three game homestand when they take on Southern Mississippi on Tuesday.

Wofford: The Terriers will have their home opener against Allen University, a NAIA school, on Tuesday.

How can I watch Wofford vs. LSU?

• TV Channel: Wofford at LSU 2021 College Basketball, week 1, is broadcasted on SECN+.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
  Try Vidgo for free.