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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Samford University basketball team played even in the second half with the homestanding LSU Tigers on Thursday, 58-58, but couldn't overcome a lackluster opening period of action in a 105-86 non-conference setback held at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
 
Samford (1-2) shot a sizzling 61.1 percent from 3-point range (11-of-18) in the second half. The Bulldogs finished the contest with 15 baskets from beyond the arc, including a season-high five 3-pointers from junior guard Justin Coleman.
 
Coleman scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and added a pair of assists. Senior guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-16 attempts, including five rebounds and four 3-point baskets.
 
Samford's senior forward Alex Thompson also scored in double figures with 10 points, but only played a total of 16 minutes before fouling out. Fellow senior Eric Adams logged 32 minutes for the Bulldogs and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. He also led the team with four steals and dropped in seven points.
 
Samford got off to a slow start against LSU. The Bulldogs committed 11 turnovers in the first half and only shot 39.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action.
 
Head Coach Scott Padgett's squad looked more relaxed in the second half and only committed four turnovers in the final 20 minutes of play. Samford also shot the ball much better and knocked down 57.1 percent of its attempts from the floor.
 
LSU (2-0) is averaging 102 points per game this season. The Tigers opened the 2017-18 campaign with a 99-59 home victory against Alcorn State on Friday. LSU shot 60 percent from the field against Samford and finished a near-perfect 19-of-20 from the charity stripe.
 
The Tigers placed five players in double-figure scoring Thursday with both Brandon Sampson and Skylar Mays notching 20 points apiece.
 
LSU outscored Samford, 52-26, in points in the paint.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs continue play in their current three-game road swing against the Loyola (Chicago) Ramblers in a pivotal early-season matchup to be held at Gentile Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
 
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