BATON ROUGE – Jarell Martin poured in 14 of his game-high 22 points during the second half, and the LSU men’s basketball team secured a 71-47 exhibition victory over Morehouse College Friday at the Maravich Center.
Martin scored LSU’s first 10 points of the second half as the Tigers extended 40-23 halftime advantage out to a 25-point cushion during the stanza’s first four minutes. He was 8-of-12 shooting and tacked on seven rebounds to go along with three steals, two assists and two blocks.
Martin was joined in double figures by fellow sophomore Jordan Mickey, who registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He also collected five blocks.
Keith Hornsby came away with 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists whereas Josh Gray picked up 10 points, three assists and two steals.
As a team, LSU finished 28-of-64 from the floor, 5-of-16 from three-point territory and 10-of-16 at the foul line. The Tigers limited Morehouse to a 19-of-83 shooting clip, 5-of-20 on three-point attempts and 4-of-15 at the charity stripe.
LSU’s bench play was headed by Jalyn Patterson, who chipped in nine points and three rebounds. Tim Quarterman also turned in a balanced effort with three points, five rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists.
The Tigers led wire-to-wire and scored the game’s first six points headed by a pair of Gray layups in transition. LSU stretched its lead to 13-4 at the 14:26 mark after a Mickey midrange jumper and a Quarterman three-ball.
Morehouse trimmed the LSU advantage down to 14-10 with 11:50 remaining before the Tigers ripped off 25 of the next 29 points over the next 8:23 off the clock.
During the spurt, LSU’s defense forced Morehouse to misfire on 14 of its 16 shot attempts. The Tigers had eight players score during the run headed by Hornsby, Martin and Mickey who racked up 17 of the 25 points.
LSU took a 40-23 lead into the locker room, and the Tigers put together a 14-2 flurry to open the second half. Martin caught fire and scored LSU’s first 10 points inside the first four minutes highlighted by a putback one-handed dunk off of a Mickey missed jumper.
The Tigers grabbed their largest lead at 71-36 on a Patterson layup before Morehouse’s scored the game’s final 11 points.
LSU embarks on the 2014-15 regular season next Saturday versus Gardner Webb. Tip time is slated for noon CT from the Maravich Center. The game will be carried online only by SEC Network Plus, www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
The LSU Sports Radio Network also will broadcast the game on Eagle 98.1 FM in the Baton Rouge area and inside the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net/live. Jim Hawthorne, Ricky Blanton and Kevin Ford will call the action.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger basketball, visit www.lsusports.net/basketball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsubasketballalong with @LSUBasketball and @LSUCoachJones on Twitter and @LSUBasketball on Instagram.
LSU Men’s Basketball Postgame Quotes
LSU vs. Morehouse College – November 7, 2014
HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening statement…
“It was good to get out on the floor tonight in front of our fans at this exhibition game. Tonight gave them the first opportunity to see our 2014-2015 team in action. The team played extremely hard and played through their mistakes. This game gave us an opportunity to try different looks and to play different guys in certain rotations prior to us getting into our regular season.”
On Jarell Martin‘s performance tonight…
“I thought that in the first half he [Jarell Martin] wasn’t as aggressive as he needed to be. He made some big plays [in the second half] and showed that he is a difference maker out there on the floor.”
On the team’s rebounding …
“Well, one you hold them to 22 percent from the field. It’s more of attention to detail and kind of an attitude – making sure that we get all of them, not just some of them and don’t take anything for granted. We had some guys leaking out thinking some folks would get the rebound, and we just didn’t finish plays. We got to make sure we do a better job of finishing plays and not expecting someone else to do it.”
On the play of Keith Hornby and Josh Gray …
“I thought both of those guys did a good job, especially on their first night out. Hornsby, I think, was a little nerved after taking his first shot in regulation for us in front of our crowd. As confident of a shooter as he is, he was able to come to the bench and say ‘I’m sure glad I got that one out of the way.’ Then, I thought he came back and shot the ball well. He was very competitive. Josh was a good ball handler and good defender as well. I thought he was able to show some signs of that tonight. Either one of those guys can have some big nights scoring, but I’m more impressed with their ability to share the basketball and making sure they got their teammates involved.”
On the team’s interior defense …
“Defensively, I think we can be really good because of size and strength and the quickness that we have out there on the floor. But again, just finishing plays and again that’s about attitude. For us, we have guys who are extremely capable. Jordan Mickey, Jarell Martin and Elbert (Robinson III) with their size. One who didn’t play, Aaron Epps, (he’s) good rebounder especially on the defensive end. But we got to send five guys to the glass on the defensive end of the floor. That’s an area that I thought we didn’t do a good job of tonight. ”
On Jalyn Patterson‘s play off the bench …
“Jalyn’s a good floor guy. Jalyn’s hit some huge shots in some championship games during his career in high school, and I thought tonight he was probably about as poised as I’ve seen a freshman on the floor out there – just not being rattled and extremely confident.”
On why Aaron Epps did not play during tonight’s game …
“It was more of a precautionary measure than anything. He had some issues with his stomach yesterday, and we just decided to sit him today.”