BATON ROUGE, La. -- Antonio Blakeney made two field goals in the final four minutes to lift LSU a 70-66 non-conference victory over North Carolina Central on Tuesday.Two baskets following offensive rebounds by Will Ransom enabled the Eagles to tie the score at 65-65 with 4:45 remaining in the game. Blakeney made the only field goal attempts by either team the rest of the way.Blakeney sank a jumper with 3:59 left to break the tie, and after North Carolina Centrals Patrick Cole made one of two free throws, hit another with 2:42 left. Neither team scored again until the Tigers Brandon Sampson made a foul shot with nine seconds to go.Coming off a 14-day layoff, we knew we wouldnt be hitting on all cylinders, LSU coach Johnny Jones said. Our guys did a good job in the second half of playing with the effort we needed. With a few minor adjustments on the defensive end, we made it tough for them.Blakeney scored a season-high 27 points, 18 in the second half. Duop Reath added 14 points and Sampson had 13 for LSU (6-2), which trailed by 13 points on three occasions in the first half.The mentality was to play defense in the second half, Blakeney said. They were really shooting the ball in the first half. We wanted to play defense and take our offense to the next level. I was just trying to be aggressive. I wanted to draw plays out and knock the shot down.Cole scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out nine assists. Dajuan Graf had 18 points and Ransom scored 10 points for the Eagles (6-5).It was a tale of two halves, North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Morton said. We caught them rusty a little bit. They havent played in a while, so we kind of shocked them. We really executed in the first half. We didnt finish the game down the stretch and thats on me.BIG PICTURELSU: The Tigers remained unbeaten at home with their fifth victory. For the third time this season, LSU won after trailing at halftime.NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL: The Eagles came very close to knocking off their second Southeastern Conference team this season. NC Central beat Missouri 62-52 last month.SECOND HALF TEAMLSU continued to play much better after halftime. The Tigers outscored NC Central 34-23 over the final 20 minutes. LSU defeated Wofford and Old Dominion earlier this season after trailing at halftime. In the Tigers previous game against Houston, they outscored the Cougars by 18 points in the second half while going on to an 84-65 victory.NEAR QUADRUPLE-DOUBLEPatrick Cole, NC Centrals top scorer at 21 points per game, almost reached double digits in four statistical categories. Cole contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. In addition, Cole committed 10 of the Eagles 19 turnovers. Cole had a potential game-tying 3-point shot blocked by Brandon Sampson with 12 seconds remaining in the game.SOLID POST TANDEMBoth Duop Reath and Craig Victor, LSUs two starting posts, came close to registering double-doubles. Reath, who was 7-of-9 from the field, had 14 points and eight rebounds. Victor, who missed nine of his 12 field goal attempts, accounted for eight points and a season-high 11 rebounds.UP NEXTLSU: The Tigers will play Texas Southern Saturday.NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL: The Eagles continue their two-game swing through Louisiana when they meet McNeese State in Lake Charles on Saturday. Nike Air Max 90 Sale . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Nike Air Max 90 . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. https://www.cheapnikeairmax90china.us/ . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Clearance Nike Air Max 90 . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. Nike Air Max 90 Outlet . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. Two Detroit Tigers pitchers were finalists for MLB awards this year, but one will have to buy the other dinner.?Michael Fulmer was announced as?the winner of the American Leagues Rookie of the Year award on Monday, while Justin Verlander is up for the Cy Young, set to be announced on Wednesday evening.?Verlander tweeted his excitement to be in the running for his second career Cy Young last week, then sent some virtual congratulations to Fulmer for being a Rookie of the Year finalist -- and proposed a bet.Verlander, who won Rookie of the Year in 2006, offered an alternative way to look at the dinner bet.After winning AL Rookie of the Year, Fulmer resigned too the fact that hed have to buy dinner for Verlander, who served as his mentor this past season.dddddddddddd?Prior to Wednesdays Cy Young announcement, Fulmer tweeted some good-luck wishes to Verlander. Verlander responded accordingly, referencing the bet between him and Fulmer.?Fulmer told MLB Network Radio hes hopeful he wont have to pay for dinner. And that Verlander will win the Cy Young, of course.?Food, mentorship and impressive numbers on the mound: the common threads that bind a current ace and a future ace.-- Alex Tekip ' ' '
