LSU 71, San Francisco 63: Freshman forward Jarell Martin scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the visiting Tigers in the first round of the NIT.

Shavon Coleman and Johnny O'Bryant III each added 13 points and six rebounds for LSU (20-13). The Tigers will play next at Southern Methodist, a 68-54 winner over UC Irvine earlier Wednesday, in Monday's second round.

Cole Dickerson scored a game-high 24 points and also grabbed eight rebounds for San Francisco (21-12). Tim Derksen scored 12 points and Kruize Pinkins finished with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Dons, who connected on just 3-of-23 3-pointers.

Martin had 14 points in the first half to help LSU take a 33-30 halftime lead. The Tigers led by as many as eight points at 20-12 after Shane Hammink's dunk, but Dickerson scored seven points to fuel a late 9-2 run to help San Francisco close to within a point before Tigers guard Anthony Hickey ended the half with a twisting drive to the basket.

LSU, which connected on six of its first 10 3-point attempts in the second half, extended its lead to 61-45 with a little over eight minutes to go. The Dons used a 13-4 run to close to within 68-62 with two minutes to go, but the Tigers sealed the win with a pair of free throws by Coleman and another by guard Andre Stringer, who finished with nine points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Francisco's last win over an SEC school came on Nov. 28, 1981 when the Dons upset No. 16 Georgia 92-84. ... LSU improved to 17-1 when leading at halftime this season. ... The Dons finished with a 40-34 rebounding edge including 15 offensive boards which led to a 9-4 advantage in second-chance points.