Thomas Jr. notches 22-point double-double, Nwoko scores 22, as LSU beats Southern Miss 90-62

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Dedan Thomas Jr. posted a 22-point double-double, Michale Nwoko also scored 22 points, and LSU beat Southern Miss 90-62 on Monday.

Thomas Jr. was 8-of-11 shooting to go with 12 assists. He entered the game averaging 6.6 assists per game, ninth in the SEC. Nwoko was 10-of-13 shooting to go with six rebounds and five blocks.

Max Mackinnon added 15 points, and Pablo Tamba had 15 rebounds to go with his nine points. Marquel Sutton had 11 rebounds and nine points for the Tigers (12-1), who improved to 8-0 at home.

Tylik Weeks led the Golden Eagles (7-7) with 12 points. Tegra Izay added 11.

The Tigers used an early 13-2 run to take a lead they never relinquished. Nwoko's 12 and Mackinnon's 11 first-half points led them to a 41-30 halftime lead. Nwoko had another 10 in the second half, and Thomas had 13.

The Tigers shot 51.6% against the Golden Eagles on 32-of-62 shooting. They entered the game shooting 51.4% from the field, the 20th-best mark in the country..

LSU: The Tigers open their SEC slate on the road against Texas A&M on Saturday.

Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles will face Louisiana-Monroe on the road on Thursday.