GAME NOTES: The LSU Tigers will close out a two-game homestand at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday night, as they take on the Massachusetts Minutemen in non-conference action.

UMass had won back-to-back games prior to its first true road test of the season on Saturday at Harvard when it suffered a heartbreaking 75-73 setback. The Minutemen are now 5-2 on the season.

After a disappointing 1-2 showing at the U.S. Virgin Island Paradise Jam, LSU returned home on Saturday to face off against intrastate foe McNeese State and registered an 83-72 victory to improve to 4-2. The Tigers are perfect at home this season and have won 10 of their last 11 at the Maravich Center.

The teams met for the first time last season in Amherst, with UMass earning a hard-fought 92-90 win.

The Minutemen led their most recent game by nine early in the second half but allowed Harvard to tie things up minutes later with a quick 9-0 run, and after a back-and-forth battle down the stretch, they gave up the game-winning bucket inside the final minute. They shot an impressive 48.1 percent from the field, but they weren't quite good enough to keep pace with the Crimson (.508). Cady Lalanne logged a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Trey Davis also poured in 13 points. Maxie Esho and Derrick Gordon netted 12 points apiece and Jabarie Hinds rounded out the balanced effort with 10 points off the bench.

UMass has developed a similar theme on the season as it experienced against Harvard, as it boasts a strong scoring offense (76.9 ppg) yet has difficulty stopping opponents on the other end of the floor (70.9 ppg). Lalanne has been outstanding in the frontcourt with 14.9 ppg (on 53 percent field goal shooting), 10.1 rpg and more than two blocks per contest. Gordon (13.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Esho (13.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Davis (11.4 ppg) are other consistent mainstays in the starting lineup.

The Tigers were given a scare by McNeese State, as they led by just three midway through the second half, but they responded to the pressure well by ripping off a 13-0 run to pull away. They shot greater than 54 percent from the field, compared to 45.3 percent for McNeese State, and held slim advantages in both the rebounding (38-35) and turnover (15-13) battles. Jarell Martin was the catalyst with a career-high 26 points on 9-of-15 from the field and 8-of-10 at the foul line to go with 10 rebounds. Brian Bridgewater also scored a career-high with 16 points off the bench, while Tim Quarterman (14 points) and Josh Gray (13) combined to hand out 13 assists.

On the season, LSU scores 73.2 ppg on 45 percent field goal shooting, despite making less than 26 percent of its tries from 3-point range. The offensive effort is enough to support a solid defense (68.3 ppg), and a strong rebounding margin (+5.5) goes a long way in helping out as well. Leading scorer Jordan Mickey (17.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg) missed the McNeese State game with a minor ankle injury but is expected to return for Tuesday's matchup. Martin (16.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg) teams up with Mickey for an excellent frontcourt duo, while Keith Hornsby (12.3 ppg), Gray (10.7 ppg, 4.5 apg) and Quarterman (9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.7 apg) round out a balanced scoring attack.

It should be a treat to watch both team's talented frontcourts go toe-to-toe in the paint, but with the expected return of Mickey to the lineup, LSU should have the upper hand playing on its home floor.