LSU holds off North Florida 78-70

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Antonio Blakeney scored 20 points as LSU held off North Florida 78-70 in a non-conference game Friday.

The Ospreys, who trailed by 12 points with slightly more than six minutes remaining in the game, reduced their deficit to four over the next two minutes. A basket by Romelo Banks left the Tigers (3-0) ahead 67-63 with 4:11 remaining.

Blakeney then scored six of his 20 points in the last 3½ minutes to enable LSU to pick up the victory. Blakeney made two field goals and a pair of foul shots. Brandon Sampson had a field goal and two free throws in this stretch for the Tigers.

Blakeney was one of four LSU players to score in double figures. Duop Reath had 17 points before fouling out late in the game. Sampson scored 16 points and Aaron Epps added 14.

Four players also scored in double figures for North Florida (1-3). Chris Davenport led the Ospreys with 16 points. Banks, Aaron Bodager and Dallas Moore each had 13 points.

BIG PICTURE

LSU: The Tigers were unable to put North Florida away for good until the final minute. LSU saw a nine-point first-half advantage cut to one point at the break. The Tigers lost most of a 12-point lead down the stretch.

NORTH FLORIDA: The performance by the Ospreys was quite different from the one two nights earlier against Miami. North Florida scored just 56 points while losing by 38 points to the Hurricanes. The Ospreys outrebounded LSU by ten and shot 44 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

LSU: The Tigers will play away from home for the first time this season in the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas. LSU will meet Wichita State in an opening-round game Wednesday.

NORTH FLORIDA: The Ospreys will return home to face their second non-Division I opponent of the season. North Florida will take on Florida National on Tuesday