LSU Surges Late in First Half, Tops Mississippi State, 80-68

BATON ROUGE, La. (WCBI/AP) — Charles Carmouche hit five 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 21 points, and the Tigers won for the fifth time in six games while handing Mississippi State its 10th straight loss, 80-68, on Saturday.

(HailState.com/Bill Simmonds)
Freshman Craig Sword put up a career-high 24 points, but it wasn’t enough in the Bulldogs’ 80-68 defeat to LSU on Saturday.

Carmouche was one of five players to score in double digits for the Tigers (15-8, 6-6 Southeastern Conference), who shot 54.5 percent (30 of 55) and led by as many as 20 points several times in the second half.

Andrew Del Piero scored a career-high 13 points, while Anthony Hickey, Johnny O’Bryant III and Andre Stringer each scored 10. O’Bryant also grabbed 11 rebounds.

Freshman guard Craig Sword scored a season-high 24 points for the Bulldogs (7-17, 2-10), who shot 46.4 percent (26 of 56) but were hurt by 4-of-17 shooting from 3-point range. Colin Borchert added 11 points and Gavin Ware 10.