BATON ROUGE – Jarell Martin racked up a career-high tying 26 points, and Jordan Mickey poured in 24 points as the LSU men’s basketball team concluded nonconference play with a 75-59 victory over Savannah State on Saturday evening at the Maravich Center.
In the process, the Tigers (11-2) extended their winning streak to eight consecutive games. LSU had two players collect over 20 points on three occasions during the same game this season. Martin has been involved all three times with Mickey against Gardner-Webb in the season opener and with Hornsby during LSU’s road win at UAB.
LSU dished out a season-high 25 assists on 33 field goals. The 25 assists also were a program high in the Johnny Jones era and the most for the Tigers since the Troy game during the 2008-09 season. Josh Gray handed out a career-high eight assists.
LSU connected on 29 of its 33 field goals in the paint for a season’s best 55 percent shooting clip. The Tigers also amassed a season’s best 58 paint points, and it marked the fourth time on the season that LSU has gone over 50 points in the paint.
For Martin, the 26 points came on 10-of-15 shooting. He also secured eight rebounds, three assists and two steals over his 35 minutes of action. It marked the first time in Martin’s career that he eclipsed the 20-point barrier in back-to-back games.
Jordan Mickey turned in a solid all-around effort with 24 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks. It was his team-leading eight double-double for the season.
LSU’s bench play was led by Tim Quarterman‘s 13 points and four assists. Brian Bridgewater chipped in six points and three rebounds, while Jalyn Patterson tacked on four assists to go along with two points, two rebounds and two steals.
Savannah State (3-10) was led by Alante Fenner and Terel Hall, who tallied 15 points apiece on a combined 12-for-24 from the floor. The rest of the Savannah State team was limited to a 13-of-30 shooting clip.
The Tigers misfired on 17 of their first 20 shot attempts which enabled Savannah State to build a 16-6 advantage. LSU regrouped and reeled off a 25-9 spurt over the final 9:39 of the half. The Martin-Mickey-Quarterman trio tallied 23 of the 25 points during the run, and the Tigers were an efficient 9-of-13 from the floor. The flurry allowed LSU to secure a 31-25 advantage into the locker room.
The Tigers quickly stretched their lead into double figures at 42-31 with 15:37 remaining on Martin’s three-pointer from the right wing.
Savannah State got as close as seven points on three occasions, the latest was at 56-49 with 8:51 to go. The Tigers fired back with 13 of the next 17 points over the next 3:15 to put the game away. Quarterman highlighted the run with seven consecutive points.
Up next, LSU heads into SEC action Thursday at Missouri. Tip time is slated for 6 p.m. from Mizzou Arena, 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.