BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s basketball team used a solid all-around effort headed by Jordan Mickey‘s 15 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks as the Tigers tucked away their sixth straight victory with a 71-47 blowout win over Charleston Monday at the Maravich Center.
LSU’s (9-2) six-game winning streak matches the longest for the Tigers under third-year coach Johnny Jones. The Tigers also won secured six consecutive wins to open the Jones era and the 2012-13 season.
LSU drained 11-of-23 from the floor during both halves en route to a 47.6 shooting clip. The Tigers dished out 17 assists on their 22 field goals. LSU also amassed a 43-34 rebounding advantage and racked up a season’s best 11 blocked shots.
For Mickey, it was his team-leading sixth double-double of the season. He picked up nine of his 10 rebounds on the defensive end and totaled four of his six blocks during the second half. Over his last two games, Mickey has collected 13 total blocks.
Jarell Martin amassed 18 points and nine rebounds highlighted by a 7-for-8 effort at the free throw line. He has secured double figures in all six games of LSU’s winning streak.
Keith Hornsby added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Off the bench, Jalyn Patterson turned in five points, four assists and three steals.
Charleston (5-7) was led by Anthony Stitt’s 13 points followed by Canyon Barry’s 11 points and Donovan Gilmore’s 10 points, respectively. LSU’s defense forced the Cougars into an 18-of-64 shooting clip.
The Tigers led wire-to-wire and fired out to a 12-3 advantage with 13:42 remaining after Mickey completed a traditional three-point play. LSU drained four of its first seven shots. Conversely, the Tigers forced Charleston to misfire on 12 of its 14 field goal attempts.
Ahead 14-7 at the 10:48 mark, LSU ran off 14 of the next 16 points over the next 3:34. Patterson ignited the flurry with a triple from the top of the key and a floating layup. Martin sank a pair of buckets coupled with two free throws, while Mickey slammed home a two-handed dunk off a nice driving dish from Hornsby to make it 28-9 with 6:42 left.
Elbert Robinson III added a tipin as the buzzer sounded to extend the LSU lead to 35-15 heading into the locker room.
The Tigers kept their lead above the 20-point barrier for a majority of the second half. LSU knocked down 15 of its 22 field goals in the paint, and the Tigers held a healthy margin in bench points.
Brandon Eddlestone and Henry Shortess put the cherry on top with three-pointers on consecutive possessions to cap the 71-47 victory.
LSU continues its three-game homestand to wrap up non-conference play next Monday versus Southern Miss. Tipoff is on-tap for 6 p.m. from the Maravich Center, and the game will be televised nationally by the SEC Network.
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/lsubasketball along with @LSUBasketball and @LSUCoachJones on Twitter and @LSUBasketball on Instagram.
LSU HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening Statement …
“I thought our guys did a tremendous job of being focused, concentrating and really coming out and playing with a great deal of intensity like they needed to in this basketball game. I thought we got off to a great start. I thought we finished the (first) half strong. I thought we came back out in the second half the same. I think it’s a good sign for this basketball team. I thought the guys who were on the bench that came in did an excellent job of making sure that we didn’t slip or let us down. I thought all of our guys who came in were mentally prepared and did a great job in this game.”
On Jarell Martin not starting tonight against the College of Charleston…
“Jarell (Martin) while he was away from campus today got in an accident off campus, which prevented him from getting back to our pre-practice prior to the game. Because he wasn’t there for our game prep, we brought him off of the bench tonight. It was nothing major. Unfortunately, he was unable to make it to practice today. He will certainly be in the lineup when we get back. The true champ that he is, I thought he did an excellent job of being focused coming off of the bench and having a great game and a great mindset. I think that says a lot about him and his character and the way we believe and trust in this team.”
On how well the team played defensively…
“I thought they (College of Charleston) were an excellent three point shooting team. You look at their three point field goal percentages per person; I think (Joe) Chealey’s tremendous- (Canyon) Barry- You can go down the line and I thought all of our guys did an excellent job of covering the three-point line, playing with a sense of urgency, getting there on the catch…We did a great job of walling them up inside which didn’t allow them any easy passing opportunities or scoring opportunities at the rim. We held them to 22% shooting I think from the field there in the first half and twenty-eight for the game. I thought we played with a sense of urgency; we know we’re going on break after this game. I thought our coaches did an excellent job of making sure they understood what a dangerous team we were playing who played UConn well. (They played) West Virginia well for over a half as well, and we knew how dangerous they would be.”
On Jordan Mickey‘s sequence of three straight blocks would be comparable to anything Jones saw when he was an assistant coach when Shaquille O’ Neal was here…
“Outside of playing Loyola Marymount and Hank Gathers kept going at him and trying to get shots off … That would probably be the only thing that would be comparable… They’re both different players. He (Mickey) had three fouls at the time and put himself in position where he had to challenge him at the rim and I thought he did a great job of not backing down.”
On the crowd’s reaction to the blocks by Jordan Mickey
“I thought our crowd was really good and energized, but I thought those particular plays-they (the team) really had an opportunity to feed off of it and Jordan really impacts the game on both ends of the floor.”
LSU FORWARD JARELL MARTIN
On why he did not start tonight game…
“I had been in a car accident earlier today. I was not able to make pregame and coach wanted someone off the bench that was more focused and ready.”
On the versatility of the team…
“We came out ready. We played attention to details. We covered the scout report very well. We shared the ball well and got some good open looks. “
On the length of the team and making big blocks during the game…
“Mickey is great at blocking shots. We did a good job of covering them around the perimeter we also did a good job of only allowing them to shoot twenty percent from outside.”
LSU FORWARD JORDAN MICKEY
On how well they shot the ball from the outside…
“Our offense was clicking tonight. We shared the ball extremely well. We were feeding the post and getting some good looks at the basket.”
On their physical defensive play…
“We just kept out hands up. We were having trouble guarding the three-point line. We made sure to have a hand up and contested each shot. Rebounding was also very effective for us tonight.”
On the amount of players that played tonight…
“It is definitely good to have a lot of guys play. It gets us ready when it comes time for conference play. Just getting guys that experience is great for our team chemistry.”
C of C HEAD COACH EARL GRANT
On College of Charleston’s performance tonight against LSU…
“I thought obviously we weren’t prepared for LSU’s athleticism. They challenged a lot of shots at the rim. There were shots we could have made, but for whatever reason we went up and expected to get blocked. We just didn’t finish well.”
On Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey‘s performance…
“Obviously they are both talented players with good size and good athleticism. They are very talented and should have a good year in the SEC. They are both very athletic and very long. They challenge you at the rim. They are really tough match-ups one-on-one.”