Corey Chest bolted down the middle of the court.
The LSU men’s basketball forward received a pass in transition during the first play of the second half. Instead of forcing a contested layup, he kicked it out to an open Cam Carter, who splashed a 3-pointer in the right corner.
After another defensive stop, Carter had control of a fast-break opportunity and returned the favor by tossing an alley-oop pass to Chest, who jammed it with two hands to send the Pete Maravich Assembly Center crowd into a frenzy.
The high-energy start to the second half propelled LSU to beat Northwestern State 77-53 on Friday after the Tigers trailed by one point at halftime. It was the Tigers' third-largest margin of victory in a game where they were down after the first half since the 1964-65 season.?
Jordan Sears had 18 points on six 3-pointers for LSU (6-1). Carter, who was scoreless in the first half, finished with 15 points. Freshman Vyctorius Miller scored 11 points, marking his fifth-straight game scoring in double digits.??
Chest made his second straight start, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Chest’s motor was the most exhilarating part of the Tigers’ win. He never stopped moving whether it was for rebounds, dunks or rejections. His activity invigorated his teammates.
"Corey is a high-motor guy, so that energy, everybody feeds off of it especially when we get out in transition," Sears said. "We are playing LSU basketball, a really fast pace, that's what we want to do."
Chest’s presence was felt as early as the first possession of the game. After Northwestern State (3-5) won the tip, the redshirt freshman blocked the shot of an unsuspecting cutter. That led to a deep 3 by Sears from the right wing.
LSU coach Matt McMahon said Chest's activity level as a weak-side defender was "fantastic" and that he's "really settling in to a nice role for our team."
Chest said that he used his redshirt season last year to level up his game.?
"Taking that time off, I was in the gym constantly, day in and day out trying to get better and compete in the SEC," he said.?
While the Tigers clearly outplayed Northwestern State overall, they initially struggled. That started with 3-point shooting, where the Tigers started 1 of 9.
The poor first-half shooting (9 of 26 from the field) was the preeminent reason for why LSU trailed 26-25 at halftime. The Tigers tied a season-low in first-half points from the Central Florida game. Out of LSU’s four home games, all against mid-major opponents, this was its third time scoring less than 30 points in the first 20 minutes.
LSU’s cold stretch was in part because of its zero fast-break points up to that point. Its effort to push the pace was noticeable, but it just never materialized into scores as Northwestern State’s defense recovered in transition.
"I didn't think we were very aggressive as a whole on the offensive side of the ball," McMahon said. "We didn't create a lot of advantages in the first half. I think we forced 12 turnovers in the first half and had zero transition points, like that's crazy."
Jalen Reed scored six of LSU’s fist nine points. He burrowed his way under the hoop and seemed too physical to stop within 5 feet of the hoop. Reed finished with 11 points, including nine in the first half.?
Northwestern State’s Jon Sanders, who was averaging 13.8 points per game, had 11 of his 14 points by halftime.
The turnaround for LSU started from the exact moment the second half began with the two fast-break scores. The team never relented as it found the juice it needed to score in transition, getting 13 points in that variety over the final 20 minutes.
Carter, who entered the game 10th in scoring in the Southeastern Conference at 17 ppg, was the biggest beneficiary of the uptempo play. He was aggressive blowing by defenders in the full court for rim attacks while also making catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.
The last time LSU won six of its first seven games and played at least two power-conference teams during that stretch was the 2021-22 season when it started 12-0.
LSU forward Daimion Collins missed his second straight game after injuring his shoulder against Pittsburgh on Nov. 22. McMahon said that testing is "encouraging" and that the team expects him to return this season.?
LSU’s next game is against Florida State at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the PMAC.