BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -Marcus Thornton scored 22 points in 24 minutes and LSU beat Northwestern State 82-58 on Saturday.
Thornton scored the game's first five points, and LSU (6-3) never trailed. He was 7-for-15 on field goals, including four 3-point shots, grabbed five rebounds and made three steals.
The Tigers also got 16 points from Chris Johnson, who was 6-of-8 from the field. Terry Martin had three 3-pointers and 15 points; Anthony Randolph, made 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Colby Bargeman had a season-high 15 points for the Demons (4-7). Trey Gilder, who entered the game with a 17-point average, missed eight of 10 field goal attempts and scored only seven points.
Johnson and Northwestern State turnovers gave the Tigers a 39-24 halftime lead, and the Demons never got closer than eight points in the second half.
With LSU holding a four-point lead in the first half, Johnson scored 12 of the team's next 16 points. Northwestern State, which was averaging 19 turnovers a game, committed 14 in the first half, and the Tigers converted them into 15 points, finishing with 27 points off 21 turnovers.
