ATHENS — Marcus Thornton always seems to perk up against Georgia.
Then again, he’s scoring against everyone these days.
Thornton had 30 points, Tasmin Mitchell added 27 and LSU won its sixth straight SEC game with an 80-62 rout of hapless Georgia on Wednesday night.
Thornton reached 30 points for the third time in five games and sixth time overall this season. It’s the second straight year the senior guard has lit up the Bulldogs, scoring 36 against them in Baton Rouge last March.
“I feel bad he went for 30 again,” Georgia’s Corey Butler said. “But it’s hard to stop a guy who can shoot it that quick and has the green light. He had a great shooting night again. Big props to him.”
Thornton, the SEC’s fourth-leading scorer coming into the contest, hit 11 of 18 from the field, including 3 of 5 from outside the arc. He also went 5 for 5 at the foul line, grabbed six rebounds, doled out three assists, came up with three steals and didn’t turn it over at all.
“It’s just a credit to my teammates,” Thornton said. “Without them, I wouldn’t have the ball in my hands. They pass me the ball, get me open and do all the little things to help me score.”
While the SEC is currently shut out of The Associated Press rankings, LSU is making a strong bid to crack the Top 25. The Tigers (18-4, 6-1) haven’t lost in the conference since a 65-59 setback at Alabama on Jan. 11.
“We’re trying to make some noise,” Thornton said. “We want to get in the Top 25 before the year is over.”
Then there’s Georgia (9-13, 0-7), which hasn’t won in 2009. The Bulldogs, playing their second game under interim coach Pete Herrmann, have lost nine straight since their last victory on New Year’s Eve against Kennesaw State. The skid is Georgia’s longest since losing 11 in a row in 1974-75.
Terrance Woodbury led the Bulldogs with 22 points, but only one other player, Trey Thompkins with 10, reached double figures. The Bulldogs made just 8 of 30 shots in the second half and finished at 38 percent from the field. For the game, they managed only eight assists while turning it over 14 times.
“We shot only 26 percent in the second half and we got frustrated,” Herrmann said. “We need to learn to play together better on offense.”
The Tigers never trailed, twice leading by 14 points in the first half. Georgia rallied near the end of the half, then went more than 4 minutes without a field goal to start the second. LSU stretched its lead as high as 23 points.
Mitchell made a run at his career high of 30 points in a win over South Carolina last month, and LSU shot 50 percent (32 of 64) from the field.
“We were mentally tough tonight, and that showed our team’s maturity,” coach Trent Johnson said. “We are getting there.”
Georgia is getting nowhere. Some hopeful students, seizing on reports that Bob Knight might be interested in coming to their school, showed up on a frigid night with his name painted on their bare chests. But even the General would have trouble winning with this bunch.
Athletic director Damon Evans watched glumly from the stands as the Bulldogs lost their second straight under Herrmann, who took over last week after Dennis Felton was fired.
“We’re going to keep working hard and being enthusiastic because we are committed to the integrity of the program,” the interim coach vowed.
LSU took command with a 17-4 run, topped off by Chris Johnson’s three-point play that made it 27-14 with 8« minutes to go in the opening period. Georgia closed the half with a 10-0 spurt that brought the home team to 35-31 at the break, briefly rousing a sparse crowd generously listed at 6,659.
A trip to the locker room got LSU back on track. The Bulldogs went more than 4 minutes at the start of the second half before making their first field goal, a 3-pointer from the corner by Woodbury that rolled all the way around the rim before dropping in.
More typical of Georgia’s offense was a 2-on-1 fast break that ended with the Bulldogs missing not one, but two shots from right under the basket.
They weren’t much better at the other end, either.
“We’re not getting stopped on defense, and that’s hurting our offense,” Thompkins said. “Of course it’s frustrating. We want to get a win.”