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Thomas, Watford help LSU beat Nicholls 86-80

FILE - LSU head coach Will Wade call to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas in Austin, Texas, in this Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, file photo. Wade was able to add more size and on-the-ball scrappiness to his roster this season and expects it to show up in a big way when the Tigers are defending. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Freshman Cameron Thomas had a season-high 29 points, Trendon Watford added 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and LSU beat Nicholls 86-80.

Darius Days had 15 points and eight rebounds for LSU (5-1).


Thomas hit a tiebreaking jumper to spark a 15-4 run that gave Tigers a 25-14 lead when his layup capped the spurt with 13:10 left in the first half and the Colonels trailed the rest of the way.

Damien Sears made 8 of 9 from the field and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and two steals for Nicholls (2-4).

Jeremiah Buford scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Ty Gordon had 12 points.