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Men's Basketball Pulls Away From McNeese in OT

by Kent Lowe (@LSUkent)
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Men's Basketball Pulls Away From McNeese in OT

BATON ROUGE – Storm Warren‘s bucket with 24 seconds to play forced a second straight overtime game for LSU but this time the Tigers dominated McNeese State in the overtime scoring 18 points to win, 78-66, Thursday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Tigers are now 7-3 on the year going to Saturday’s “neutral court” home game in Bossier City, La., against Wichita State at 7 p.m. at the CenturyTel Center.

Warren’s bucket rallied LSU from a three-point, 58-55, disadvantage with 90 seconds to play and a 60-58 deficit with 38 seconds left. Warren’s layup came off a missed three-pointer by Ralston Turner. He was fouled, but missed the free throw and then Stephan Martin missed a jumper to send the game to overtime.

In the overtime, Turner started the scoring with a jumper off an offensive rebound and after Malcolm White added a free throw, Aaron Dotson added a layup to make it 65-60. Curry Collins had a bucket to cut the margin to three, but LSU ran off the next 10 points to make it 75-62 with just 26 seconds to play, sealing the win for LSU.

LSU’s 18 points in the overtime was tied for the fourth most LSU has scored in a single overtime game and it was the first time for back-to-back overtime games since Jan. 2005 when LSU beat Ohio State and Arkansas in back-to-back extra session games at the PMAC.

Turner finished with 23 points in 41 minutes, scoring seven in the extra session. Warren had 17 points, while Stringer was in double figures for the ninth time in 10 games with 15 while White had 13 and just missed a double double with a team best nine boards. McNeese got 15 from Collins, 14 from Martin and 10 points and 11 boards from P. J. Alawoya.

LSU shot 43.9 percent for the game, but 83.3 percent (5-6) in the overtime, including 7-of-9 at the free throw line. McNeese shot 38.5 percent for the game and just 3-of-11 and 0-of-5 from the arc in the extra five minutes. 

Wichita State, who last played on Monday, comes into Saturday’s game with a 7-2 record. The Shockers are presently No. 5 in the country in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Poll. Tickets for the Bossier City game can be purchased online at CenturyTelCenter.com and Ticketmaster.

Follow LSU Basketball on facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball and @LSUCoachJohnson.

LSU vs. McNeese St.
Dec. 16, 2010

Head Coach Trent Johnson Quotes

Opening Statement…
“I don’t think I’ll be able to breathe all year long with this group. I thought for the most part we did a great job of maintaining our poise. We knew going in that McNeese was explosive on the perimeter, they were going to isolate us and beat us off of the attack by spreading it out two in three out. For the most part, I think we did a decent job defensively. The problems we had were offensively. They got us out of rhythm and we got real tentative. I know Aaron (Dotson) passed up a few and the ball didn’t go in for Matt (Derenbecker). We then started to be aggressive offensively. It is just nice to see that we had more assists than we had turnovers. We didn’t rebound like we should have, but I want to give them credit for that.

“We move forward. We have a 1 p.m. film session and we’re probably going to depart after that. Without question, we are playing a Wichita State team that is by far the best team that we have played to this point in the year. They remind me of the Nevada team I was a part of in 2004 that went to the Sweet 16 and could have advanced to the Elite 8 with a couple more baskets. They can play fast, play slow, they come with multiple types of pressure and they’re experienced. They’re a top team that we play. Their game against UConn was no fluke. Then they play a San Diego St. team, which beat them by 19, but they’re a top ten team. It is going to be a nice challenge for us.

“I would have liked to play more guys. I would have liked to play Eddie Ludwig, but he has stitches and had a concussion a few weeks ago. I wanted to err on the side of caution. He didn’t like it, but I told Eddie that I’m not worried about him being unhappy, I’m worried about his mother being unhappy.”

On close games…
“As much as I hate to go back, I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of a game (I’m talking about Coastal Carolina), where guys knew their responsibilities about blocking out and had that many missed assignments. I think it shocked the kids when they saw it on tape. They know that if we don’t consistently put a body on people, because we don’t have a lot of athletes, that we’re going to struggle against anybody.”

On Ralston Turner and Andre Stringer
“Ralston and Andre Stringer both are who they are. They’re very competitive and have good composure. They’re not afraid to make plays and that is why they are here. They both have a chance to be special.”

LSU Player Quotes

Ralston Turner

On the team’s mindset when the game went into overtime …
“I think it was a combination of learning a lesson from the Coastal Carolina game. Against Coastal Carolina, after we got the game to overtime, they came out and got the first points and we struggled in trying to come back. Tonight in the huddle we talked about scoring the first points in overtime, and we did. We extended the lead and eventually got the win.”

On his performance …
“I was just in the right place at the right time. My teammates did a great job of setting screens and Andre Stringer did an excellent job of penetrating. Aaron Dotson was very aggressive and I played my role and tried to find a hole in the defense and make a play when the ball came my way.”

Storm Warren

On the adjustments made during the game …
“It was an adjustment that we made among ourselves that we were just going to get the job done. We knew we couldn’t continue to make mistakes because it would make it difficult to win.”

Andre Stringer

On his adjustment to college basketball …
“The college game is much more physical and the speed of the game is faster. You don’t have to necessarily change your game when getting to college, but you have to slow down and be stronger. I think when we young guys got here, we knew we were going to have to grow up quickly. With games like this, I think we are making a good effort getting toward that.”

On if the team’s thoughts when heading to overtime …
“We have had some tough losses, but tonight I don’t think any of us had any thoughts about that. Like coach tells us, we focus on today and not yesterday and not tomorrow. I don’t think there were any negative thoughts. We knew we had to take care of business tonight and we did that.”

On his five assists tonight …
“Every time I step onto the court, I want to make my teammates better. With my ability to get into the lane, I think it is imperative. If I can get into the game and get guys like Ralston Turner and Aaron Dotson open for jump shots, then I think I am doing my job. Those guys are great shooters, and you have to find your shooters when you are the point guard.”

December 16, 2010

MCNESSE STATE HEAD COACH DAVE SIMMONS

Opening Statement …
“I thought it came down to when we had the game won, it just came down to one possession. They missed a shot when we were up two, and we let them get the offensive rebound and let a poor free throw shooter have a chance for a three point play. (Storm Warren) made the bucket. If he doesn’t make the bucket, chances are he is going to miss one of those free throws or at least make him earn it and tie it up on the line. Instead he tied it up on the bucket and missed the free throw so we went into overtime. The biggest thing is we lost our composure when they got up one or two, and that is what happens when you have your two leading scorers out. It came down to one big rebound I thought, regardless of how other things went in the game. We just missed a big rebound and they got the rebound when they needed to, and of course they scored.”

On the slow start to the second half and overtime …
“I think once they got ahead we probably could have done some things different. I thought we fought until the end up until overtime and into overtime. I think we lost a lot of our stream going into overtime. I thought we fought hard and the score in the end doesn’t show it because we fouled late in the game trying to get us a chance to maybe work on some things. I am proud of them, it was a hard-fought ball game. I told them that the opportunity was there and we just couldn’t get it done. That is the sad thing. I am really hurting for them because they fought their hearts out. I thought we were prepared and I thought we were the better team for most of the game, but we never got a good run or push. Hats off to them because they came into a tough environment where we have struggled, but in the end they beat us. Bottom line.”