EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice men's basketball made 17 three pointers and had 15 players score at least a point in a runaway win over North American University, 135-79 to open up the 2020-21 season at the HPRE Center on Friday. The Bengals (1-0) improved to 3-0 all-time under Byron Starks in season openers.
LSUE scored the opening basket and never looked back, using a 24-6 run in the first part of the first half to build a 35-10 lead on the way to a 69-34 halftime advantage.
Jonathan Cisse (Grand Coteau, LA, St. Thomas More HS) scored 16 of his game-high 18 points before intermission.
Cissed led what was a total team effort from the Bengals, getting seven players to record double-digit scoring nights.
Jaidon Lipscomb (Columbus, Ohio, Dohn Prep Academy) (17 points),
Isaiah Payne (Ville Platte, LA, Pine Prairie HS) (17 points) and
Joshua Davis (Houston, TX, Concordia Lutheran HS) (16 points) fueled the backcourt driven scoring night. Lipscomb and Davis netted four three-point baskets each, part of a 17 trifecta game.
Tyran Jones (Ville Platte, LA, Ville Platte HS) (12 points),
Thierno Keita (Thies, Senegal, NBA Academy) (11 points) and
Steven Melina (Pau, France) (10 points) also netted double digit nights.
The 135 points is the second most in a single-game in school history, just behind a 138-68 win over Louisiana Christian Post Grad on January 16, 2020.
The Bengals will stay at home for a date on Wednesday with East Texas Baptist JV. The action from the HPRE Center begins at 6:00PM and can be seen online through Bengal All-Access on lsuebengals.net.
