LSU basketball roundup: Men win Saturday, while women play Sunday

The LSU men’s basketball team matched the 2-0 start of the Tigers’ women’s squad with a 61-52 Saturday win over Arkansas State in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Meanwhile, coach Kim Mulkey’s Lady Tigers will try to become the first team in school history to score 100 or more points in three consecutive games when they host Western Carolina (2-0) in the PMAC at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Here's what happening with the Tigers and Lady Tigers:

Men: LSU led all but 62 seconds vs. ASU, expanding a 31-26 halftime lead to double digits in the first five minutes of the second half.

The visitors cut LSU’s advantage to 45-43 with 9:58 left before the Tigers went on an 11-0 run in the next 7:08. LSU guard Adam Miller, who scored a game-high 26 points, keyed the rally with 7 points.

“There are some areas we need to improve upon, but I loved our defensive effort to hold them to 5-of-25 from three and force 16 turnovers,” LSU first-year head coach Matt McMahon said. “I thought we did a better job of playing disciplined on that end of the floor and not fouling so much.”

ASU missed 10 straight shots, including 7 3-point misfires, during LSU’s second-half rally.

“We shot 5-of-25 from three and most were wide open, which we normally make,” ASU coach Mike Balado said. “It is tough for us to win a game like this when you are not making shots from three. But for the most part, we shared the ball, we took good shots, we were aggressive.”

Besides Miller, Murray State transfers KJ Williams and Juice Williams scored 15 and 11 points respectively.

Forward Omar El-Sheikh led ASU (1-1) with 17 points.

LSU plays at home Thursday night at 7 against New Orleans before playing in three games in the Cayman Islands Classic Nov. 21-23. The Tigers open against Illinois State, then will play Akron or Western Kentucky the next day.

Women: Mulkey’s talented Lady Tigers have opened the season by scoring 125 and 111 points vs. Bellarmine and Mississippi Valley State respectively.

Transfer forwards Angel Reese (Maryland) and LaDazhia Williams (Missouri) have immediately provided consistent inside play. Reese is averaging 23.5 points and 14 rebounds while Williams is contributing 12.5 points and 5 rebounds.

“They’re both very good players and they complement each other very well,” Mulkey said. “They’ll be a great tandem for us when we start SEC play.”

Sunday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network.

The Lady Tigers play again at home on Wednesday at 11 a.m. vs. Houston Christian and next Sunday vs. Northwestern State at 2 p.m.