Jan. 12, 2005

Box Score

By MARY FOSTER
AP Sports Writer

BATON ROUGE, La.(AP) – Glen Davis scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead LSU to a 79-64 victory over South Carolina Wednesday night.

It was the seventh game the LSU freshman scored in double figures, and his second double-double of the season.

LSU (7-5, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), which had not played at home in a month and had lost four of its past five games, shook off its troubles against the Gamecocks (9-5, 1-2).

The Tigers pulled ahead early then put on a scoring exhibition in the second half, shooting 58 percent from the field. LSU went on a 16-3 run in the second half to go up 63-43 with 10:10 left.

LSU hit almost 59 percent from the field overall (30-of-51) and made 9 of 19 3-point baskets. The Tigers led by as much as 23 points in the second half.

Darrel Mitchell scored 18 points for LSU, Brandon Bass added 12 and Antonio Hudson, playing on an injured ankle that caused him to miss practice this week, had 11 points.

South Carolina, which had shot 50 percent or better from the field in the past four games, did it again against the Tigers, shooting 50 percent even (26-of-52).

But the Gamecocks failed to force the turnovers they normally thrive on, getting just 12 from the Tigers and scoring only 14 points on them. Going into the game, South Carolina’s opponents had averaged 17.3 turnovers per game, fourth in the SEC, and had shot 39.9 percent from the field.

LSU outscored the Gamecocks 34-24 in the paint.

Carlos Powell led South Carolina with 16 points, Tre’ Kelley had 11 and Tarence Kinsey scored 10.

LSU slowly pulled away from the Gamecocks in the first half and held a 10 point advantage at the break, 39-29.