BATON ROUGE — LSU followed up a solid overall performance against Gardner-Webb three days earlier with a quick start against Oral Roberts on Saturday.

The Tigers had a 20-point lead midway through the first half and coasted to a 100-77 non-conference victory over the Eagles.

LSU took command early in the opening half. Holding a five-point advantage at 10-5, the Tigers held Oral Roberts to only two baskets over a five-minute stretch. Meanwhile, LSU scored 20 points, fueled by a pair of Antonio Blakeney 3-pointers.

A 3-pointer by Josh Gray with 11:25 before halftime put LSU on top 30-9.

The Tigers had no less than a 15-point lead the rest of the first half. Obi Emegano’s lone first-half field goal left Oral Roberts behind 48-32 at the break.

“We needed to get off to a good start and we were able to do that,” LSU coach Johnny Jones said. “Offensively, we were clicking. On the defensive end, we got the necessary stops. We rebounded the ball for the most part from the start and we were able to finish the half strong.”

Ben Simmons was the leading scorer for LSU with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half. Simmons had nine rebounds and seven assists and scored 11 consecutive points for the Tigers (6-4) in the second half.

Four more LSU players scored in double figures. Craig Victor and Keith Hornsby each had 13 points, while both Blakeney and Gray had 12 points. Victor made his first start of the season after becoming eligible following a transfer from Arizona.

“Everyone is back on the floor and healthy,” Simmons said. “There are no more excuses for the way we played in the past. We have to call each other accountable and we’ve been doing that. I tried to be more assertive and attack the rim in the second half. I was trying to get to the rim and find the open man.”

Freshman Kris Martin was the top scorer for Oral Roberts (8-5) with a season-high 18 points. Emegano had 16 points, while Albert Owens had 12 and Brandon Conley 11.

“LSU exposed us in a lot of ways, especially on the defensive end,” Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton said. “We didn’t defend and didn’t take away the paint and they made us pay. They got some easy baskets early in the game and then they got some confidence and made some shots from the perimeter.”

The Eagles never threatened to the Tigers following halftime.

Two field goals by Simmons gave LSU a 20-point advantage at 64-44 with 13:55 remaining in the game.