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Davis leads LSU to blowout win over Louisiana-Monroe

Nov 19, 2006 - 11:12 PM BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Ticker) -- Glen Davis showed that even though he is a lighter version of himself, he is still a lot to handle in the paint.

Davis scored 26 points and Tasmin Mitchell added 21 as No. 7 Louisiana State pounded the ball inside frequently in its 88-57 victory over Louisiana-Monroe.

Despite being down 37 pounds from his playing weight of 326 last season, Davis continued to be a force inside, making 10-of-15 shots and grabbing eight rebounds.

Behind the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, the Tigers (2-0) finished with a 42-12 advantage in points in the paint and won the rebounding battle, 43-28.

Mitchell, who made all five of his shots in the first half, hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points as LSU rolled out to a 44-22 lead after 20 minutes.

"I don't know if we could have played better in the first half being that this was only our second regular-season game," LSU coach John Brady said. "I like what we did defensively in the first half and offensively we executed well and didn't make many mistakes. We were efficient as we could be in the first half."

Darnell Lazare scored 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting and Dameon Mason chipped in 10 for the Tigers, who finished 62 percent (36-of-58) from the field, including 7-of-17 from the arc.

Mason also had seven assists and Garrett Temple added six along with his six points for LSU, which finished with 26 assists.

Although they lost assist leader Darrel Mitchell from last season, the Tigers have recorded 51 assists against 32 turnovers this season.

"Our assists-to-made field goals ratio has been really good," said Brady, whose team has 67 baskets in two games. "Hopefully we can keep that going. I think doing well in your assists-to-made field goals ratio is a sign of unselfishness and shows how your team plays well together. These guys have been together for a while now and they understand what needs to be done."

That unselfishness will face a major test in LSU's next game on Saturday, when Wichita State - an NCAA regional semifinalist last season - comes here.

"The good thing about this is that we have had two games that we can really grow and learn from," Brady said. "(The Shockers) have four starters back and are a very good team. I would be surprised if they are not ranked this week. Hopefully our fans will come out to watch that game."

Jordan Payne scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half for the Warhawks (2-2), who shot 33 percent (21-of-64).