Arizona transfer forward Craig Victor scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in his LSU debut, helping the Tigers to a 78-57 win over Gardner-Webb on Wednesday in Baton Rouge, La.

In what was probably its best defensive performance of the season, LSU (5-4) limited the Runnin' Bulldogs to seven first-half field goals and allowed its fewest points of the season after back-to-back games of allowing more than 100.

While the Tigers' first-half defense was stalwart, it took five different players scoring six or more points to offset the loss of freshman forward Ben Simmons, who sat most of the half with foul trouble.

Both Simmons and forward Aaron Epps finished with double-doubles -- Simmons with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Epps had 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Guard Keith Hornsby led the Tigers' balanced assault with 14 points, and fellow guard Antonio Blakeney chipped in 11. All but one eligible Tiger player scored and five were in double figures.

Runnin' Bulldogs guard Harold McBride led all scorers with 19 points and was 5-for-9 from 3-point land. Guard Laquincy Rideau added nine points.