BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The LSU men’s basketball team made it two straight wins on an opponent’s home court Thursday night as the Tigers rallied from an 11-point first half deficit with another strong second half to win going away, 79-70, over UAB at Bartow Arena.
LSU opening with two straight road wins marked the first time LSU had accomplished the feat since defeating Florida and Maryland at the start of the 1988-89 season.
With a crowd of 6,054 looking on, UAB came out strong, shooting 51.5 percent, including five treys in the first half. UAB opened leads of 17-6 and 19-8 in the first 6:30 of action before the Tigers were able to slowly cut into the margin. The Tigers got it to three on four occasions in the final five minutes of the opening stanza, but UAB still lead, 39-33, at intermission.
LSU, which had two 60-plus percent second half shooting percentages, was nearly as hot in the final 20 minutes against the Blazers, but it was the first 1:57 of the half that set the tone. On LSU’s second possession, Jordan Mickey hit a jumper to cut it to 39-35, before Jarell Martin made a layup to make it 39-37. The Tigers tied it after a UAB turnover as Tim Quarterman got a layup, forcing a Blazer timeout at the 18:03 mark.
“They did a great job coming out with energy in the first half,” LSU Coach Johnny Jones said of the Blazers, who jumped out to a 17-6 lead. “In the second half, we had to make sure we didn’t just match their intensity level, we had to exceed it, and our guys were able to do that.
“We were able to get some stops, and on the offensive end we were able to get out and run and get in the open floor. We were just quicker than they were and had some easy scoring opportunities.”
The Tigers got the lead for good after the fourth tie at 49-49 as Quarterman got a dunk on a Mickey pass and then after a steal by Jalyn Patterson and his missed layup, Keith Hornsby got the offensive rebound and scored to go up 53-49 with 13:17 to play.
Martin made 10-15 field goals, including both of his three-point attempts and his three free throws to finish with 25 points and six rebounds, while Keith Hornsby had his college high of 24, hitting 8-of-15 including two treys and 6-of-6 at the line. Jordan Mickey had 13 points and eight rebounds and equaled his career high in blocks with seven. Jalyn Patterson played 33 minutes and had three treys in an 11-point night with three assists, three steals and no turnovers.
LSU turned the ball over just 10 times and got 16 points off of UAB’s 14 turnovers. LSU also held a 40-28 advantage in the paint, but was out rebounded for the second straight game, 36-34.
For the second half, LSU was 17-of-30 for 56.7 percent and 4-of-7 outside the arc for 57.1%. For the game, the Tigers were 28-of-61 for 45.9 percent, 7-of-14 for 50 percent and 16-of-18 at the free throw line or 88.9 percent, making 8-of-9 each half. UAB was held to just 12-of-32 in the second half shooting just 37.5 percent.
Robert Brown had 20 points to lead UAB, with C. J. Washington 14 and William Lee 13.
“The second half did us in,” UAB coach Jerod Haase said. “The bottom line is we were completely and totally ineffective on the defensive end. We had no answers for them.”
The Blazers (4-7) also didn’t have much of an answer for Mickey. His presence down low was one of the reasons UAB struggled from the field in the second half.
“He blocked seven, but he altered several other shots as well. He forced guys to take quick shots,” Jones said. “They shot in the 30s in the second half, and that was indicative of what he did defensively.”
Trailing 39-33 at halftime, LSU opened the second half by scoring six straight points to tie the game.
LSU starting point guard Josh Gray did not play because of a lower right leg injury suffered Saturday against Sam Houston State. Tim Quarterman started in his place and struggled from the field in the first half, but finished with six points and eight assists with only two turnovers.
LSU hosts the College of Charleston on Monday night at 8 p.m. on the SEC Network and on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. Admission will be free with a new, unwrapped toy for Toys For Tots. Follow updates on LSU Basketball at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball and on Instagram @LSUBasketball.