BATON ROUGE (AP) Max Mackinnon scored 19 points and Dedan Thomas Jr. added 16 to go with eight assists in his LSU Tigers debut and the Tigers rolled past Tarleton State Texans 96-60 on Wednesday night in a season opener for the Tigers.

Thomas went 6 of 7 from the field and 4 of 4 at the line while grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots. Mackinnon shot 6 of 7 and drilled 4 of 5 from 3. Mike Nwoko, who played a season each at Miami and Mississippi State, posted 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting with eight rebounds. Jalen Reed added 11 points and six boards off the bench in his first action since his ACL injury on Dec. 3, 2024.

LSU led 47-31 at halftime, then kept separation as the bench matched the starters’ efficiency. Marquel Sutton, who played three years at Omaha, scored 13 on 5-of-10 shooting with two 3's.

LSU shot 70.2% overall at 33 of 47 and 8 of 18 from deep. The Tigers also won the glass, 39-21, while handing out 21 assists.

Tarleton State was led by Kade Douglas with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 4 of 7 from 3. Freddy Hicks scored 12 with five rebounds, and AJ Dent Jr. and Matyas Vrabel each added 10. The Texans (0-2) shot 20 of 62 from the floor and 7 of 22 from 3.

--- Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.