BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)—Marcus Thornton scored 31 points as LSU extended its homecourt winning streak to 17 games with an 81-57 Southeastern Conference victory against Mississippi State on Wednesday night.
The victory enabled the Tigers (15-3, 3-1) to move into a tie with the Bulldogs (13-6, 3-1) for first place in the SEC West. Mississippi State’s loss ended a five-game winning streak.
LSU lost most of its 13-point first-half lead in the first couple of minutes after halftime. Then, Thornton took over by scoring 17 points in a four-minute span. Thornton knocked down four 3-pointers as the Tigers outscored Mississippi State 22-7.
Thornton’s layup following a steal gave LSU a 60-42 lead, and the Tigers cruised from there.
Tasmin Mitchell was the only other LSU player in double figures with 24 points.
Jarvis Varnado led the Bulldogs with 18 points.
