LSU 64, Boise St. 45

Updated: Dec 10, 2011, 10:19 pm

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Justin Hamilton scored 14 points as LSU defeated Boise State 64-45 in a nonconference game Saturday night.

Hamilton was 5 of 7 from the field and 4 of 7 from the foul line. He also grabbed five rebounds. Anthony Hickey contributed 11 points and four assists and Storm Warren and Johnny O'Bryant had 10 points apiece.

The Tigers (6-3) played without leading scorer Andre Stringer, who was not in uniform after experiencing fainting spells recently. Stringer was averaging 12.1 points per game.

Derrick Marks was the top scorer for the Broncos (8-2) with 12 points and Jeff Elorriaga added 11. Anthony Drmic, who was averaging 15.6 points per game, didn't score. He missed seven field goal attempts and two foul shots.

Entering the game, Boise State was averaging 85 points and shooting 50 percent from the field. The Broncos shot only 29.8 percent (17 of 57) against LSU.

The Tigers scored the last eight points of the first half to take a 25-22 lead. Warren accounted for six of those points on two field goals and two free throws. The other LSU points in that run came on a short jumper by Ralston Turner.

Boise State had built a 22-17 advantage on a flurry of 3-pointers. Two by Thomas Bropleh and one by Elorriaga carried the Broncos during a stretch in which they outscored LSU 11-4. A layup by Ryan Watkins capped the Boise State run.

The Tigers extended their lead to nine points in the first seven minutes of the second half. After a 3-pointer by Elorriaga reduced the Broncos' deficit to one point at 28-27, LSU went on an 11-3 run with five players making a field goal. Hamilton's layup put the Tigers on top 39-30.

Boise State couldn't make a significant dent into LSU's lead. A basket by Warren with 8:12 remaining in the game gave the Tigers their first double-digit advantage at 45-35. The Broncos came no closer than nine points the rest of the way.