Southern Miss Golden Eagles at LSU Tigers

Blakeney scores 26, LSU defeats Southern Miss 78-61

Blakeney, who missed nine of his 11 field goal attempts in the Tigers' season-opener against Wofford, made 9 of 14 from the field, including 3-of-3 3-pointers.

LSU (2-0) took a 12-point lead into halftime. Southern Miss scored the first eight points of the second half to make it 37-33 but Blakeney scored five points during a 13-5 run that made it 50-38 with 13:14 left and the Golden Eagles trailed by double figures the rest of the way.

"I come out and be aggressive, whether it is taking a shot, passing the ball or getting a rebound," Blakeney said. "It's key for my teammates to space the floor, believing in me to make shots. We have guys who can do things offensively and defensively. We have no one who cannot do a certain thing."

Brandon Sampson scored 11 points while Wayde Sims and Duop Reath added 10 points apiece for LSU. The Tigers shot 54 percent from the field, including 9 of 16 from 3-point range.

"USM was excellent in terms of its speed and athleticism," LSU coach Johnny Jones said. "They were able to drive the ball to the rim and they hit some early shots on the perimeter. We were glad to go in with the halftime lead. We did a good job holding them to under 40 percent shooting in the first half."

Quinton Campbell led Southern Miss (1-1) with 14 points. Michael Ramey added 13 points and Tim Rowe scored 11. The Golden Eagles, who shot just 39 percent, were 4 of 24 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

"I can't be disappointed in our effort," Southern Miss coach Doc Sadler said. "We get it to five (40-35) and we've got a chance. Then, we give them two straight opportunities for easy baskets. We were going to have to make some 3-point shots. We missed an awful lot of 3-pointers, open shots. That's where they beat us."

BIG PICTURE

LSU: For the fourth time in Johnny Jones' five seasons as coach, the Tigers have won their first two games of the season. LSU's best start under Jones came in his first year when it began 6-0.

USM: The rebuilding job for Golden Eagles coach Doc Sadler is going to take some time. Southern Miss has won just 12 times in Sadler's first 54 games. The Golden Eagles' one victory this season came against Tougaloo, a NAIA team.

FILLING UP THE STAT SHEET

Only twice last season did Blakeney score more than 26 points in a game. He scored 32 points against Florida and 31 points against Mississippi State. Blakeney made more than nine field goals just once last season: 11 against Mississippi State. He had a career-best six assists and grabbed five rebounds Tuesday night.

TOUGH NIGHT

Southern Mississippi's Raheem Watts had 15 points and nine rebounds in the opener against Tougaloo. LSU kept Watts under control as he finished with only nine points and four rebounds. He was 4 of 16 from the field, including 0-for-7 on 3-pointers.

HOT-SHOOTING START

LSU has shot higher than 50 percent from the field in each of its first two games. The Tigers made 52 percent of their field goal attempts in the opener against Wofford and 54 percent Tuesday night. LSU's 3-point shooting was more accurate against the Golden Eagles as it made 56 percent. The Tigers connected on only 29 percent of their 3-points against Wofford. LSU had back-to-back games of 50 percent shooting on four occasions last season.

UP NEXT

LSU: The Tigers will go for a sweep of their season-opening home stand when they play host to North Florida on Friday.

USM: The Golden Eagles will return home for a game against Division II Union (Tenn.) on Friday.

How can I watch Southern Miss vs. LSU?

• TV Channel: Southern Miss at LSU 2021 College Basketball, week 2, is broadcasted on SECN+.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
  Try Vidgo for free.