LSU defeats American, 79-51

The Tigers improved to 7-4 on the season after defeating the American University Eagles on Tuesday night. Ben Simmons scored 23 points and Craig Victor added another 14 as The Tigers pulled away in the second half to secure a victory.

Early in the first half it appeared that American was controlling the pace of the game. The Eagles had a 26-22 lead with a little over six minutes left in the half. LSU went on a 14-9 run to finish the fist half with a 36-31 lead and they never trailed again. LSU opened the second half with a 15-2 scoring run, and Simmons and Hornsby accounted for 13 of 15 of those points. With 15 minutes left in the game LSU had a 51-33 lead. American shot only 25.9 percent in the second half.

The Togers have now won each of their last three games by at least 20 points. The last time that occurred was 2007-08. Keith Hornsby saw limited playing time in the first half, but again came in to make a difference in the second. Hornsby and Simmons both made some spectacular shots, including a couple of highlight reel dunks.

The Tigers need to continue to have games like Tuesday night where they dominate their opponent in the second half and finish the game strong. Last season Johnny Jones' team struggled to finish off games in the second half. This season the team is struggling to find momentum and the first half, and unable to recover from deficits in the second half. LSU faces a daunting January with contests against Oklahoma and Kentucky. If The Tigers hope to beat either team they still have a long way to go. In the meantime the fans can continue to enjoy watching Ben Simmons.

LSU faces Wake Forest December 29th at 6 p.m. in the PMAC. ESPNU will carry the matchup.