BATON ROUGE – Josh Gray exploded for a career-high 25 points, and the LSU men’s basketball team registered over a 50 percent shooting effort for the third on the season as the Tigers picked up an 82-60 victory over UMass Tuesday at the Maravich Center.
Gray connected on 11-of-15 from the floor and amassed 14 of his 25 points during the opening half. He also tacked on five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Gray is the sixth player to net 25 points in game during the Johnny Jones era.
As a team, LSU was 35-of-65 shooting which included a 5-for-13 clip from three-point territory. The Tigers totaled 26 of their 35 field goals in the paint en route to a 52-36 edge. LSU also came away with a 41-32 rebounding advantage.
Jordan Mickey notched his fourth double-double of the season and collected 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds and a season’s best five blocks.
Off the bench, Tim Quarterman turned in a solid all-around performance with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. The 15 points were one shy of a career-high for Quarterman. Jarell Martin tacked on 12 points and five rebounds for the Tigers.
Keith Hornsby produced nine points, six rebounds and four assists, while John Odo chipped in five points and three blocks before he fouled out.
LSU has won all four games by a margin of 12.25 points per game when the Tigers have had four players secure 10-plus points.
UMass also had four players reach double figures sparked by Cady Lalanne’s 16 points and 12 rebounds. Maxie Esho (14 points), Trey Davis (11 points) and Derrick Gordon (10 points) also garnered 10-plus points for the Minutemen.
The Tigers raced out to an 8-0 advantage during the opening 2:14 off the clock. Mickey started the scoring with a midrange jumper followed by a thunderous two-handed slam dunk by Martin. Mickey added a transition layup off a Gray assist, and Gray dropped in a runner inside the paint.
UMass worked its way back into the contest and knotted the score at 24-24 on a Gordon jumper at the 8:23 mark. However, LSU responded with 17 of the next 19 points over the next 4:40.
Quarterman began the flurry with a three-pointer from the left wing coupled with a Mickey putback layup between a trio of UMass defenders to vault the Tigers back ahead 29-24.
LSU finished the spurt with 12 consecutive points aided by a pair of Martin buckets and two Martin free throws to make it 41-26 with 2:44 remaining. The Tigers would carry a 44-32 lead into the locker room.
UMass trimmed the LSU advantage down to eight points on two occasions, the latest at 48-40 with 16:31 to go.
The Tigers put the game away with a 9-2 run over the next 4:06. Mickey ignited the charge with a traditional three-point play, and Odo capped the run with a second-chance bucket to push LSU’s lead to 57-42 with 12:02 left.
Gray put the finishing touches on his 25-point effort with a deep triple as the shot clock expired for the winning margin of 82-60.
Up next, LSU squares off with No. 16 West Virginia Thursday as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
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. UMass – December 2, 2014
LSU HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening Statement …
“When our schedule came out knowing this was going to be a very tough week, it was one where we were looking forward to with the challenges. I thought we kind of had an idea of where our team was this week. We were excited to come out and play well against a quality team like UMass, a NCAA tournament team with a lot of veteran guys back from last year. For our guys to come out and to play tonight and to accept the challenge out of the gate in the first half, I thought we played extremely well on both ends of the floor. We executed offensively. Defensively, we were trying to do a great job of holding those guys at bay and contending contesting shots. Then, in the second half, to come out and do more of the same, we held composure when they made their run. There in the second half, we came back and made the necessary plays to get the score back really to our liking and keep it at double-digits. I thought our guys did a great job of finishing the game well. I thought Josh Gray, although other guys did a great job, probably had one of his best performances. I thought, on both ends of the floor tonight. Defensively, he was trying to keep great players down, stand in front of them and fight through screens. Offensively, again being patient, we made plays for other guys on the floor. We knocked down shots in a timely fashion to allow us to get out of there with a victory tonight.”
On regaining composure after the turnovers…
“I thought that when we turned it over, we would go back and steal it and get it back. Unfortunately, (UMass) kept it down, but I thought the guys were able to settle in. The big thing is we wanted to make sure that we continued to run our offense. We wanted to try to get the ball from side to side and get touches and force them to have to defend a little bit into the clock. When we were able to settle in and do that, we had some easier scoring opportunities … I thought we made some tough passes and tried to get some passes in two-gaps, but you have to give UMass credit. They continued to play, they fought back and they created some of those turnovers as well.”
On the team’s performance tonight …
“I thought our guys did a great job in the first half especially against the quality players we were playing against tonight. Offensively, those guys are extremely tough getting to the basket. (Derrick) Gordon can usually get to the rim and force you to get into foul trouble. I thought we did a great job of helping down in the lane. Then, offensively, I thought we were as fine-tuned as we’ve played all year long by sharing the ball, being balanced, scoring, attacking, getting the ball to the open people and making the right reads all night.”
On Josh Gray‘s play …
“Josh is really good and has really great ball skills. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the second half, we had some early turnovers. I thought that when he settled in and were able to get by his man off the ball screens, he got into the gaps of their defense. He made some easy plays at the basket which allowed him to shoot a high percentage tonight.”
On Gray’s ability to score tonight …
“That’s just part of it. I think he’s a tremendous guard. He’s got good ball skills. He’s an excellent passer. I think the big thing that he’s noted for is his ability to score. I think he got his scores throughout the game. They weren’t just bunched up. He didn’t just try to take over and come down to take shot-after-shot. His scores were spaced out tonight. Again, I thought that when they made their runs we were able to spread the floor. He was able to get to the basket and make great plays.”
On the quick turnaround to face West Virginia …
“I think it’s a great week. It’s a quick turnaround for us. They’re a Top 15 basketball team, and it’s going to take that type of effort to play against a team with the quality of West Virginia. We’ve got to do a great job of making sure we’re composed in that type of environment being on the road. It’s going to be a great experience for our young basketball team.”
LSU GUARD JOSH GRAY
On his performance during tonight’s game …
“To be honest with you, I played really well last game. It was just like any other night. I just played hard and tried to follow the game plan.”
On the team’s defensive effort against UMass…
“I feel that we did a good job of speeding them up. Coach Jones’ game plan worked well tonight, and it ended with the victory. “
On the team’s balanced offense attack…
“We all had the same mindset and the same goal. Everyone was on the same page, and we came out with a win tonight.”
LSU FORWARD JORDAN MICKEY
On Josh Gray‘s 25-point performance …
“Josh is a big part of our team. He is able to get to the basket whenever he wants to. He makes good plays at the basket, and he is a smart player. He makes great passes and finishes shots around the rim.”
On Josh Gray‘s dynamic play…
“Josh is extremely dynamic. He can do multiple things with the ball. He is able to shoot the ball extremely well. He can get to the basket and was able to finish.”
On the importance of Josh Gray‘s role as a point guard…
“Its very important. We have multiple guys that can score the ball. Guys that can hit three’s, and guys who are able to post up. With Josh being able to get to the goal, it helps the team out in making extra effort play.”
On Thursday’s game at West Virginia…
“Tonight was a good win. We are going to celebrate tonight. We have to get focused for tomorrow. We have practice tomorrow and start to gear up for Thursday against West Virginia.”
UMass Head Coach Derek Kellogg
Opening statement…
“I think the start of the game was indicative of really the whole game. We gave them some free baskets off of our tough offensive plays, and our press which kind of got them going. That continued throughout the evening. We made a couple short runs at them, but I think those were inhibited by our poor decision making on the offensive end of the floor. The only positive out of this is we have a travel day tomorrow, and three days of practice that we desperately need to get better on both ends of the floor.”
On continuing to improve on offense …
“Yes, a lot of the natural things that we hadn’t really work on. I feel like half the time the guys made the wrong decision and took some tough shots rather quickly. We’re going to clean up the shot selection and the turnovers. Those are the two things I am going to zero in on. As much as our half court defense, I thought our poor selection offensively was a killer. They had 10 fast break points, but it felt more like 30 off of blocked shots that we talked about. That guy (Jordan) Mickey was blocking shots everywhere also off of unforced turnovers.”
On how blocked shots can alter the team’s game plan…
“We talked about that. That was something pretty important that we talked about was to not get your shot blocked, and we had 10 of them against us. That was obviously not a part of the game plan. The problem with those is that they are like live ball turnovers that lead to baskets on the other end of the floor. They’re a good team. They’re as talented as any team we will play. We had them at home last year. (Jordan) Mickey didn’t play last game so I thought he was out with something to prove. They have a couple of NBA talented players.”