Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 18 points and LSU produced a strong stretch in the first half and then kept Drake at safe distance for most of the rest of the way in a 71-62 victory in the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday in Niceville, Fla.
Mike Nowoko’s 14 points and Max Mackinnon’s 11 points also boosted LSU (6-0), which will face DePaul, a 75-61 comeback winner against Georgia Tech in an earlier game Friday, in the final on Saturday. Drake (4-3) will oppose the Yellow Jackets in the consolation game.
Jalen Quinn’s 20 points and Jaehshon Thomas’ 16 points paced Drake. The Bulldogs couldn’t overcome shooting woes, hitting 36.1% of their shots, including just 26.7% (8-for-30) from 3-point range. Jaehshon Thomas went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, accounting for half of the team’s successful threes.
LSU shot 46.4% from the floor, going 5-for-19 (26.3%) from 3-point distance.
The Bulldogs hung around, with Quinn’s basket and then Griffen Goodbary’s free throw cutting the deficit to 61-53 with 3:43 to play.
Dedan Thomas Jr. had his team’s only two field goals — one a long 3-pointer — from the 10-minute mark of the second half until Nwoko’s drive with less than 3 1/2 minutes left.
Drake went back-to-back possessions without scoring while the Tigers extended the margin to 66-55. But Jaehshon Thomas scored on a drive at the 1:09 mark, and after a timeout, the Tigers gave the ball back on a turnover.
Goodbary’s 3-pointer cut the gap to 66-60 with 52 seconds to play. Dedan Thomas Jr. responded with a pair of free throws. Then Jaehshon Thomas was off the mark on a 3-point attempt, pretty much sealing the outcome.
Both teams committed seven turnovers.
LSU took its first double-digit lead at 27-17, making 12 of its first 22 shots from the field.
That became part of a 10-0 run that produced a 33-17 edge before the Tigers went through a three-minute scoring drought. They led 38-24 halftime.
Other than Quinn’s 11 first-half points, Drake’s offensive woes were evident. The rest of the Bulldogs shot 5-for-22 (22.7%) from the field before the break.
