Reid and Waters spark LSU to 81-69 victory over ULM

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Naz Reid had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Tremont Waters finished with 11 points and 10 assists as LSU completed its non-conference schedule with an 81-69 victory against Louisiana-Monroe at the PMAC on Friday night.

DECISIVE STRETCH OF THE GAME

LSU held the lead for almost the entire game, but it could never build a comfortable advantage until the midway part of the second half. A basket by Michael Ertel put UL-Monroe behind the Tigers 57-51 with 12:40 remaining in the game. LSU then went on a game-deciding 10-1 run. Ja’vonte Smart, who was scoreless up until this stretch, knocked down two 3-pointers. Darius Days and Waters also had baskets for the Tigers who went on top 67-52. The Warhawks trailed by at least ten points the rest of the game.

LSU PLAYER OF THE GAME

Playing only 23 minutes, Reid finished with 19 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Reid was 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-8 at the foul line. Reid, who had never blocked more than one shot in a game this season, had four. Reid scored five of the Tigers’ first eight points in the game. He also was responsible for LSU’s first seven points in the second half. Reid has scored at least 13 points in four of the Tigers’ last five games.

KEY TEAM STATISTICS

Field goal shooting: LSU 53% (32-of-61), ULM 39% (23-of-59)

Three-point field goal shooting: LSU 38% (8-of-21), ULM 38% (9-of-24)

Free throw shooting: ULM 88% (14-of-16), LSU 56% (9-of-16)

Rebounds: LSU 35, ULM 34

Assists: LSU 18, ULM 9

Steals: LSU 12, ULM 6

Points in the paint: LSU 42, ULM 26

Points off turnovers: LSU 21, ULM 13

Second-chance points: LSU 15, ULM 7

Bench points: LSU 21, ULM 8

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

LSU

Naz Reid: 19 points, 12 rebounds

Skylar Mays: 14 points

Emmitt Williams: 12 points, 8 rebounds

Tremont Waters: 11 points, 10 assists, 8 steals

Ja’vonte Smart: 10 points

Darius Days: 9 points, 6 rebounds

UL-MONROE

Daishon Smith: 22 points

Michael Ertel: 21 points, 6 rebounds

Travis Munnings: 6 points, 8 rebounds

NOTES

LSU’s starting lineup consisted of Reid and Marlon Taylor in the post, Mays and Smart on the wings and Waters at point guard. Mays and Reid both played fewer than 25 minutes. Waters, Taylor and Smart all played more than 30 minutes. Daryl Edwards was once again not in uniform because of a leg injury. . .Waters nearly accumulated a triple-double in his return to the starting lineup. The eight steals matched his career-high and were two shy of the LSU record set by Shawn Griggs against Tennessee in 1991. Waters’ 10 assists were one short of his career-high. Waters was just 4-of-13 from the field and committed four of the Tigers’ 14 turnovers. . .Williams was very productive in his 27 minutes with 12 points and eight rebounds. He made six of his seven field goal attempts. . .Mays reached double figures in points for the 11th time in 13 games this season. Mays was 5-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-4 on 3-pointers. . .Smart had gone nearly 2½ games with one basket until he connected on the two treys which helped LSU pull away in the second half. Smart was 3-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-6 on 3-pointers. Smart has made four of his last 24 field goal attempts. . .Days had his nine points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. He was 4-of-6 from the field. . .Taylor only scored six points, but he was the primary defender on Travis Munnings. Taylor held Munnings to six points – 11 below his average. . .Kavell Bigby-Williams only played seven minutes and had one rebound. Bigby-Williams did not see much action because of ULM’s small lineup. . .Smith and Ertel, the starting backcourt, combined for 43 of the Warhawks’ 69 points. The two players were a combined 13-of-24 from the field. No other UL-Monroe player had more than six points. . .Trailing 21-20, LSU went on a 12-3 run in the first half. A 3-pointer by Reid gave the Tigers the lead. A 3-pointer by Mays gave LSU a 42-33 halftime lead. . .ULM opened the second half on an 8-1 run to cut its deficit to two points at 43-41. The Tigers stayed in front, but they didn’t pull ahead until the middle portion of the second half. . .LSU extended its homecourt winning streak to 15 games. This winning streak is the sixth longest in PMAC history. . .The Tigers have won 19 consecutive games against Louisiana schools. . .Waters now has 109 career steals which puts him in a tie with Ronald Dupree, Jamie Brandon and Jalyn Patterson for No. 25 on the school’s all-time rankings. Waters has 270 career assists which puts him No. 14 in school history. . .LSU has won all seven games it has played against Louisiana-Monroe. . .The Tigers are 10-3, while the Warhawks are 7-5. . .The paid attendance was 10,028. The actual crowd was a little more than 6,000.

FROM THE LOCKERROOM

Coach Will Wade’s comments: “We got to ten wins in non-conference, which is always a good benchmark to hit. After the first seven or eight minutes, we settled down and didn’t turn the ball over. I’m still very concerned with our rebounding. I like our eight-man rotation. I like how we’ve got things going right now. We just have to tighten some things up and get ready to go in SEC play.”

UP NEXT

LSU will play host to Alabama in its Southeastern Conference opener at the PMAC on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central. The Crimson Tide (7-3) will play Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches (Tex.) on Sunday evening. Alabama will begin its SEC schedule against Kentucky in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, Jan. 5. The LSU-Alabama game will be available on the SEC Network.

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