BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Freshmen Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey combined for 39 points to lead LSU to a 92-81 Southeastern Conference victory against Mississippi State on Wednesday.
Martin, who was 8-of-11 from the field, scored a season-high 20 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, which matched his highest total in an SEC game. Mickey, who made a season-high 11 foul shots, finished with 19 points.
Three other players scored in double figures for LSU (16-9, 7-6), which never trailed in the game. Shavon Coleman scored 18 points, while Andre Stringer had 14 and Anthony Hickey 13. The 92 points were a season-high for the Tigers, who have won six straight league games at home.
Craig Sword had a career-high 33 points for Mississippi State (13-13, 3-10), which has lost eight games in a row. Gavin Ware had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Trivante Bloodman and Roquez Johnson each had 11 points for the Bulldogs.
LSU took control of the game at the outset with a 14-0 run. Mississippi State missed its first three field goal attempts and committed five turnovers, which led to nine Tigers points. Hickey got the scoring going for LSU with a 3-pointer.
Johnny O'Bryant made two foul shots and a field goal, while Mickey converted a three-point play. The Bulldogs' first point came on a foul shot by Fred Thomas with 16 minutes remaining in the first half.
Mississippi State, which trailed by 20 points, cut its deficit to six at 26-20 with 7:28 remaining in the first half. Sword scored eight points and I.J. Ready made three field goals as the Bulldogs outscored LSU 16-2.
However, the Tigers extended their advantage back to double figures by the end of the half. Two 3-pointers by Hickey started the outburst which enabled LSU to expand its lead. Mickey scored five points during this time as the Tigers took a 42-31 lead into halftime.
Mississippi State trimmed the LSU lead to seven points inside the first three minutes of the second half. Back-to-back baskets by Sword left the Bulldogs behind 47-40.
However, the Tigers answered with a 12-4 run. Stringer made a pair of free throws and a pair of 3-pointers to help LSU go on top 59-44 with 14:42 remaining. Mississippi State trailed by at least ten points the rest of the game.
