By Owen Kaelble | @OwenKaelble
Sports Capital Journalism Program
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In a frantic, high scoring second half, the leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference, Cameron Thomas of LSU, made his name known to the nation with 20 points in the second half to lead the Tigers to a 76-61 win over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (19-9) will now advance to a second-round game on Monday against No. 1-seeded Michigan. For eighth-seeded LSU, this is the second straight tournament with a first round win. The Tigers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019. The Tigers are looking to advance to the Final Four for the first time in 15 years.
Thomas, who is ranked eighth in scoring in the nation averaging 22.6 points a game, finished with 27 points, four rebounds and three assists for the game. After not getting many shots to go down in the first 20 minutes, the freshman got things going in the second half.
“In the second half I just wanted to attack the basket,” said Thomas. “My threes and shots were a little off in the first half, so I had to get going by getting to the free-throw line, getting to the basket, and that’s how I got going and that’s what propelled us to win today.”
Thomas led the nation in free throws made during the regular season with 176.
St. Bonaventure (16-5) was held to 26% shooting. LSU made 36% of its shots. LSU found offense through sophomore guard Aundre Hyatt, who attacked the boards for three offensive rebounds in the first half alone leading to longer possessions and second chance points. The Bonnies stayed within arm’s length by relying on junior Kyle Lofton, who scored the final four points in the first half for the team by driving to the basket and absorbing contact, making it a nine-point deficit at the horn.
“We’re going to need Dre to make a deep run in the tournament, so I felt like this was a great starting point for him,” said Thomas.
Everything changed in the second half as in the first 8:18 the Tigers and Bonnies combined for 39 points, with 3-pointers raining down, players sprinting up and down the court and shots that missed wildly in the first half suddenly falling.
To put the scoring in the second half in perspective, two Tigers scored in double figures in the second half alone with junior forward Darius Days adding ten points of his own with two 3-pointers. St. Bonaventure’s junior guard Jaren Holmes scored 10 points in the second stanza as well.
“The offense always comes around, we scored 76 points on a great team,” said head coach Will Wade. “…It’s about getting stops and rebounding, which is what we did a great job of, and I knew as long as we were getting stops and getting rebounds, we were going to be in pretty good shape…”
Sophomore LSU forward Trendon Watford earned a double-double for the afternoon, totaling 11 points and 11 rebounds, as well as three assists. Assembly Hall is familiar for the Watford family as Trendon’s brother, Christian Watford, played for the Hoosiers from 2009-2013, and is most known for his game-winning 3-point shots against No. 1 Kentucky in December 2011.
