BATON ROUGE, La. — Javonte Smart and Emmitt Williams each scored 21 points, and No. 22 LSU opened its season by beating Bowling Green 88-79 on Friday night.
Smart, replacing two-year starter Tremont Waters at point guard, reached 20 points for just the second time in his career.
Skylar Mays, the only returning starter in the Tigers’ lineup, had 18 points and eight rebounds. Darius Days had 13 points, and freshman Trendon Watford scored 10 points.
Justin Turner had 26 points for Bowling Green (1-1). Caleb Fields scored 17 and Dylan Frye had 15 for the Falcons, who have not defeated a power five team in six seasons.