GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jarell Martin registered a SEC career-high 22 points, and was one of four players to pump in double figures as the LSU men’s basketball team used an effective and efficient effort in all phases to secure a 79-61 victory over Florida on Tuesday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The 18-point win for LSU (14-4, 3-2 SEC) was its largest margin of victory over the Gators (10-8, 3-2 SEC) in Gainesville since a 70-50 decision on Feb. 5, 1992 and ended UF’s 20-game SEC home winning streak which dated back to March 4, 2012. It also equaled LSU’s biggest road win during the Johnny Jones era, the Tigers picked up a 64-46 win at South Carolina on Feb. 14, 2013.
LSU was 27-for-52 from the floor and dished out 17 assists on its 27 field goals. The Tigers also were a crisp 8-of-13 from three-point territory and converted on 17-of-18 at the free throw line.
For Martin, it marked the sixth time he eclipsed the 20-point barrier on the season. He was 7-of-15 shooting and converted on seven of his eight free throws attempts. Martin added eight rebounds and two assists over his 39 minutes of action.
Tim Quarterman racked up 13 of his 15 points during the second half. He also equaled a season-high with eight assists coupled with five rebounds. Quarterman has reached double figures in five of her last seven outings.
Keith Hornsby registered 15 points aided by a trio of three-pointers, while Jordan Mickey turned in his 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Jalyn Patterson secured six points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench.
The Gators were led by Dorian Finney-Smith and Alex Murphy who tallied 10 points each. Finney-Smith, who entered the game as Florida’s leading scorer, was bottled up for a 4-for-13 shooting effort.
After seven ties and three lead changes during the opening 17 minutes, LSU reeled off the last five points of the stanza courtesy of a pair of Martin free throws and a Hornsby trey to close half to take a 37-32 advantage into the locker room.
Ahead 52-47 at the 12:12 mark of the second half, LSU put together a 14-2 run to take control of the contest. Hornsby and Patterson dialed up three-pointers 61 seconds apart to ignite the spurt and push the Tigers ahead 58-47 with 10:44 left.
Martin added pair of free throws followed by a thunderous two-handed dunk off a Quarterman bounce pass in transition. Quarterman capped the flurry with a layup and midrange jumper to make it 66-49 with 8:11 remaining.
The Gators drew back within 66-56 after seven straight points. However, Martin answered with a tipin coupled with a Quarterman trey from the left wing to extend LSU’s lead back to 15 points, 71-56, with 4:31 to go.
LSU wraps up its two-game road swing Saturday at Vanderbilt. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. CT from Memorial Gym. The game will be televised by ESPNU along with 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/lsubasketball along with @LSUBasketball and @LSUCoachJones on Twitter and @LSUBasketball on Instagram.
LSU Head Coach Johnny Jones
On getting the road win:
“I thought we took care of the basketball, I thought we were able to finish plays and I thought we made extra passes. Late in the game it allowed their defense to have to shift. We were able to get in the gaps and our guys were able to finish at the rim. When we were fouled, we were able to step up to the free throw line and knock our free throws down. I thought we did a great job of being able to close them out that way.”
When Florida started gaining momentum late in the game:
“It was real important for us to finish the right way. I thought our guys did a great job of composing themselves and getting back out there and taking care of the basketball, ending strong and meeting the passes. At the same time, I thought they got to the gaps and shot layups or knocked down some huge shots for us.”
On beating Florida at home:
“I knew it was going to be a very competitive game. This team played in the Final Four last year and they went 18-0 in our league, they’ve got several guys back from that team with a great deal of experience. We knew it was going to take a tough effort for us to have an opportunity to get a victory. I’m really pleased with our team, the way they performed, bounced back from the game the other night. They responded well like they have all year long.”
On the LSU defensive effort:
“They only shot 38 percent from the field tonight. I thought that was major for us. They’re an excellent shooting team. I think they’re shooting around 45% from the field. Defensively they’re holding teams to about 39 percent shooting from the field, so we executed against a tough defensive team. Defensively we were able to defend, guard and in the second half we rebounded the basketball really well.
LSU Forward Jarell Martin
On the win…
“Coming on the road and getting this victory is a big plus on our hand for our team. After losing to Texas A&M, we came out and bounced back. It was a big relief off our shoulders. We were definitely excited. We have to put this past us and focus on Vanderbilt.”
On their defense…
“We played help defense. We communicated, talked and fought through screens and played as a unit.”
LSU Guard Keith Hornsby
On Florida’s run…
“I was thinking about taking care of the ball and running time off of the clock. They have fast guards, so you have to take care of the ball, make plays when you need to, and stop them on defense. In the end our guys got it done.”
Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan
On the team’s performance so far this season:
“I’m not surprised at all by any of this. I saw this coming out of last season with the group of guys that were coming back. I didn’t have high expectations for Devin Robinson or Chris Chiozza just because they are freshmen. I think when you start trying to rely on freshmen it becomes difficult. But the veteran guys that came back, there is a lack of discipline in them. They struggle in that area. I’m not surprised by any of what is going on. I’ve tried a lot of different things with them, but they’re going to have to go through this to figure it out.”
On the play of LSU tonight:
“(LSU) is an explosive team. They’re one of the leaders in our conference in terms of points. They have almost six guys averaging double figures, so they have a lot of different answers at a lot of different spots. It was a game where we were going to have to try and provide help because I just didn’t think we could guard (Jordan) Mickey and (Jarell) Martin one-on-one by themselves.”
On LSU players Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin:
“I think both of those guys are really talented players, but you look at their shooting percentages and they’re not great for front-court players. I think Mickey affects the game a lot more on his defense. I think Martin is very versatile. They’re not high percentage shooters. The thing those guys do that by far is the most underrated thing is they really are terrific passers.”
Florida Junior Forward Alex Murphy
On what needs to improve…
“We have to get better. Simple as that. We have to play harder, play with more passion and more fire. They played harder than us and executed better than we did. They beat us in all facets of the game tonight. They were a big and physical team, but I didn’t think that it was anything that we couldn’t handle coming into the game. Since conference play has started we haven’t defended the three-point line well. That’s something that we need to fix.”
Florida Junior Forward Dorian Finney-Smith
On LSU’s explosive play…
“We needed to protect our home court. How quick their guards were surprised us. We knew they had great bigs, but their guards really surprised us. We fought hard at the end but they executed on offense and they played better on offense than we did on defense.”
Florida Junior Guard Michael Frazier
On Florida’s lack of execution…
“It’s all about discipline and doing our jobs and right now, we are not doing our job as a team. As soon as we correct that, there might be some change. Losing is not a good feeling. This is about the team not getting it done collectively. Simple as that.”