Jordan Sears, Cam Carter propel LSU to 77-53 victory over Northwestern State

BATON ROUGE, La. -- — Jordan Sears scored 18 on nothing but 3-pointers and Cam Carter scored all 15 of his points in the second half as LSU overcame a sluggish first half to cruise past Northwestern State 77-53 on Friday night.

Sears made 6 of 11 shots from beyond the arc and grabbed five rebounds for the Tigers (6-1), who improved to 4-0 at home. Carter missed three shots — all 3-pointers — in the first half. He shot 5 for 10 in the second half, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc, and made both of his free throws.

Jalen Reed and reserve Vyctorius Miller both scored 11 for LSU. Corey Chest pitched in with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Jon Sanders scored 14 to lead the Demons (3-5), who fell to 0-4 on the road.

Sanders sank three 3-pointers and scored 11 to help Northwestern State take a 26-25 lead into halftime. The Demons had a lead for 12:40 before intermission while the Tigers led for 3:40. Sears and Reed both scored nine for LSU.

Carter opened the second half with a 3-pointer and Chest followed with a fast-break dunk to give LSU a 30-26 lead. Sears answered Sanders' 3-pointer before Carter hit from deep to ignite a 17-0 run and the Tigers cruised from there.

LSU scored 35 points before the Demons reached 10 in the second half.

The Tigers shot 53% in the second half and 44.8% for the game. They made 10 of 27 from 3-point range and 15 of 18 at the foul line.

Northwestern State shot 31.3% overall, 30.8% from distance (8 for 26) and made only 3 of 10 free throws.

-------- Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-toWp-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball