Gamecocks drop first SEC game of season at LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Emmitt Williams and Naz Reid each scored 15 points as LSU extended its winning streak to seven games by defeating South Carolina 89-67 in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday night.

The Tigers (14-3, 4-0), who led for nearly the entire game, have won their first four SEC games for the first time in 13 seasons. LSU’s 2006 Final Four team won its first seven conference games.

Williams, whose 15 points matched his season-high, also grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds. Williams and Reid were two of six LSU players who scored at least ten points. Kavell Bigby-Williams, Ja’vonte Smart and Tremont Waters each had 12 points. Marlon Taylor had 10 points.

“We played well the first half,” LSU coach Will Wade said. “To shoot 32-of-35 from the free throw line is tremendous. We did a great job attacking the paint. We had good pace and had good spacing, especially in the first half. We did a great job on the offensive glass. It’s good to see us win in a different way.”

A.J. Lawson led the Gamecocks (9-8, 4-1) with 18 points and Keyshawn Bryant scored 10. South Carolina, which had its five-game win streak snapped, was outscored 32-6 at the foul line.

“We got totally outplayed, especially their guards who dominated our guards,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. “We lost in every statistical category. I’ve never coached a game like this where we got destroyed on the glass (49-29).”

Two good stretches enabled LSU to build a 48-28 halftime lead over South Carolina. A basket by Williams with 12:03 before halftime capped a 10-2 run and put LSU ahead 21-13.

Williams scored seven points as LSU went on a 15-4 run over the final six-plus minutes of the first half. A layup by Skylar Mays with 51 seconds left gave the Tigers a 48-28 lead at the break.

“Our guards are our leaders and they have been telling us how we need to go hard to the glass,” Williams said. “We need to just keep going and get better each and every day. Coach (Wade) made everyone on the team make 100 free throws. We have been working on free throws a lot and it shows.”

IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS

LSU is putting up some rare results recently. The Tigers have won 17 straight home games for the first time in ten years. LSU won its last three home games in 2008 and its first 14 home games in 2009. The Tigers’ seven-game winning streak is their longest since recording eight straight victories in the 2014-15 season. LSU is 4-0 in the SEC for only the fourth time in 50 seasons. The Tigers won their first four league games in 1981, 1995 and 2006. LSU’s four-game SEC winning streak is its longest in seven seasons.