BATON ROUGE – LSU pushed No. 1 Oklahoma to the absolute limit before Isaiah Cousins’ 15-foot jumper with 3.8 seconds remaining to give the Sooners a 77-75 victory over the Tigers on Saturday as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The game was played in front of the second largest paid attendance since the 2006 renovation of the building – 13,882.
After Cousins’ bucket LSU inbounded the ball to Tim Quarterman who drove the length of the floor but had his shot blocked by Khadeem Lattin. There appeared to be contact on the play, but no foul was called.
The Cousins’ bucket erased a three-pointer by LSU freshman Antonio Blakeney that tied the game with 20.3 seconds to play. Oklahoma came down and Cousins drove left around a screen and then hit the pull-up jumper.
Quarterman had a huge night for LSU hitting all five three-point attempts and had 18 points, four assists and two steals to lead the Tigers. Craig Victor II had 15 points while Ben Simmons had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Blakeney, who had the game-tying three, his three treys overall and had 11 points.
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Oklahoma was led by Buddy Hield who had 32 points with 8 three-pointers, including 7-of-10 in the second half. Cousins had 18 points and 7 assists and Ryan Spangler 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tigers (13-8) shot 49.1 percent for the game, making 11-of-23 three-pointers and 10-of-13 free throws. The Sooners shot 44.4% (28-of-63) making 14-of-29 three-pointers and 7-of-10 free throws.
Two key stats showed Oklahoma State with a 17-9 advantage in points off turnovers and 17-11 advantage in second chance points. LSU had 15 turnovers to Oklahoma’s 10 with the Tigers having a 24-14 advantage in points in the paint.
The Tigers came out well with the large crowd urging them on, taking control of the game on a jumper by Victor and a three-pointer by Jalyn Patterson to give LSU a 19-12 lead with 13:08 to go in the first half, the lead would go to eight, 23-15, on a Blakeney jumper at the 10:26 mark.
After a Buddy Hield jumper with 6:48 to play that cut the LSU lead to 28-23, the Tigers ran off eight straight points on a jumper by Victor and three pointers by Blakeney and Quarterman to push to lead to 36-23 with 5:06 to play in the opening half. LSU would lead, 44-36, at the half after an Aaron Epps trey with six seconds to go in the half.
It was Jordan Woodard who scored the first points of the half for Oklahoma to cut it to 44-38, but then Victor got a layup, Simmons had a layup and a dunk and after a timeout, Keith Hornsby hit a jumper to make it 52-38 with 15:56 to play in the game. That would be LSU’s biggest lead of the game as the crowd began to sense the possibility of its first regular-season win over No.1 since December of 2002.
From there, the Sooners began hitting threes, especially Hield, and the lead dropped to two on a Hield three, 65-63, with 4:38 to play.
After an LSU turnover, Hield hit another trey, and Oklahoma had a 66-65 lead with four minutes to play.
From there, the lead switched back and forth with Blakeney getting a three with 2:19 left to give LSU a 72-70 lead. But Hield countered and Oklahoma lead, 73-72, with 1:53 to go. Victor missed and Oklahoma rebounded, called timeout and set up a Cousins jumper that increased the lead to 75-72 with 1:10 to play, setting up what would be the final sequence with Blakeney getting the tie and then the winning Cousins jumper.
LSU, 6-2, in the Southeastern Conference, and in a three-way tie for second with Kentucky and South Carolina, returns to league play on Tuesday night at Auburn in a 6 p.m. game at the Auburn Arena televised on the SEC Network and broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network. LSU’s next home game is Saturday at 5 p.m. against Mississippi State.
LSU vs. No. 1 Oklahoma
January 30, 2016
LSU HEAD COACH QUOTES
Head Coach Johnny Jones
Opening Statement…
“We knew coming in against the No. 1 team in the country that we would have to play a really tough, hard-nosed basketball game and not be perfect but try to be as close to flawless as possible to give ourselves a chance. Our guys did a great job of coming out, playing well in the first half, going in with a little momentum after Aaron Epps‘ three in the first half and coming back out in the second half with the same as well, executing and playing hard. At the end being the No. 1 team in the country that they are, a senior dominated team, they did the things that were necessary to win the basketball game coming down the stretch, making plays, making huge shots there at the end with (Isaiah) Cousins knocking down the two right there as the last basket being scored in the game. Our guys kept their head up. Tim Quarterman did a great job of getting the ball up the floor and getting it to the rim where we needed it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the opportunity to get to the free throw line. At the end of the day, I certainly applaud our guys with their effort against a great team. I want to say thanks to our fans that came out and did a tremendous job—the group that stood out and waited through the night and getting in today, the students and the others—to give us and provide the type of energy they did today.”
On the last LSU possession of the game…
“I thought Tim did what he was supposed to — get it to the rim and give them an opportunity to make the call. I haven’t had the chance to go back and watch it, but I though he went in there in traffic. He didn’t have an opportunity to get the ball to the rim.”
On Ben Simmons‘ offense in the last 10 minutes of the game…
“He did a good job of making plays and getting the ball to the other guys, setting screens, spacing the floor. They did a good job of trying to make sure that they got in the gaps, defensively, not allowing (us) to try to drive the ball. We wanted to run some high-low action to him inside there. They did a good job of trying to prevent us from getting it down in there on the post.”
On Oklahoma scoring 17 points off of turnovers in comparison to LSU’s nine…
“They had 17-second chance points as well, talk about 34 second chance points and points off of turnovers. That was big. Of course, if we rebounded the basketball—they wound up getting 14 offensive rebounds—if we take those away, their long shot, long rebounds, that helps. We turned the ball over. We scrambled a couple of times. I thought we were going to get back and then get it out, kick it up the floor, knock down some huge threes. That was a part of a run that they made to get back into the game. When you’re playing a team like that you can’t afford to make mistakes and open doors for them. They took advantage of those opportunities.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
Guard Tim Quarterman
On Oklahoma’s last play…
“(Isaiah) Cousins dribbled the ball and the clock down. We thought they were going to set a pick with Buddy Hield but he ended up spacing the floor. Jalyn (Patterson) stayed with him and played great defense but he made a great shot. That’s how the game unfolded.”
On LSU’s last play…
“I went the hole pretty hard and got hit but they didn’t call the foul. That’s just the way the game ended.”
“Emotions were high after he hit a big shot. I tried to get the ball as fast as I could to the other end of the court. I made it to the other end and tried to make a tough layup. There was definitely contact but there was no foul called. We can’t hang our heads on that.”
On the difficulty of defending them…
“They were pretty difficult to defend because they play so free. Every player on their starting five had a green light. When you’re playing against players like that then you have to stay right because they’re going to hit tough shots. That’s what they did.”
On Buddy Hield’s performance…
“He got a couple of open looks in the second half that got him going. We were attached to him in the first half. He had a hard time at the beginning, but he got freed up during the fast break opportunities and they took advantage.”
On what they can learn from the game…
“I think we had a lot of positives in this game. We never gave up. We were down three points and Antonio (Blakeney) hit a big shot. We made big shots down the stretch but we didn’t make enough tonight.”
On making big shots…
“As a kid growing up, you see a lot of games like this on television. You just picture yourself in that moment. When we play against big team, I like to take advantage of the opportunity and being blessed. I just try and take full advantage on our home court. We had a lot of fans support out there and the gym was loud. We just wanted to get the win but we fell short.”
On what he learned…
“Playing against good teams like that you can’t turn the ball over as many times we turned it over tonight. We just have to take care of the ball and get shots instead of turnovers. We have to get more possessions for our team. That was big tonight.”
On Antonio Blakeney‘s shot at the end of the game…
“It was big because in the first half of the season he went through a little slump. We told him to keep shooting. He stayed in the gym and got his reps. I’m proud of him for stepping up in big moments like that. We have the most confidence in Antonio and we believe that he can make shots like that night in and night out.”
Point Forward Ben Simmons
On going dry offensively …
“They had a run and we were expecting that. They are a great team. They had a run. They were hitting big and contested shots. I think we are learning every game and it’s good to play a team like this. We are maturing every game.”
On the lack of balance in the second half…
“I think it’s going with what works. Me going inside was working and then me kicking it out was working. Craig (Victor II) was posting up and then we hit the outside shots. We were doing well in the first half and we went away from it in the second half. That’s the way the game went.”
On learning from today…
“That’s the No. 1 team in the country and we lost by two. That’s big. We are taking a lot away from it. We have a lot of great players and older players that have been with each other for a while. It’s another learning experience.”
On Oklahoma’s defense…
“I think they did a pretty good job. We were just trying to get through our sets and make sure we were moving it. I think they did a solid job.”
On what he learned…
“I learned that we have to keep going. We have to play the full game and not take our foot of the gas. We did a pretty good job but they hit big shots. We’ve had this situation a couple times throughout the year and we’ve gotten better each time.”
Forward Craig Victor II
On what Oklahoma was doing on the offensive glass…
“They were just long shots and long rebounds. We just have to box out and get the rebounds like that. The rebound is long but we didn’t capitalize on the defensive end when it came to rebounding.”
On taking away some positives from today…
“It was another learning experience. We felt short but people didn’t believe we’d be in the game. To come out and show that as a team we can complete a mission as a team was a big competition and big game but at the same time we came to play and just fell short.”
OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH LON KRUGER
Opening Statement…
“Tonight was a great battle. I thought LSU played great. They took us out of a lot of things in the first half that we’ve typically been able to do. Johnny (Jones) does a terrific job, so no surprise there. I am proud of our guys. We were down and a lot of things weren’t going very smoothly. The guys just kept talking about turning up defensively. I thought they did that. Isaiah (Cousins) set the tone out there in front. I thought defensively, Khadeem (Lattin) did a good job and picked up everyone’s intensity. We hung in there. I thought guys on both teams made big plays down the stretch and big shots down the stretch. We were just fortunate to get the last shot.”
On the winning play of the game…
“Buddy (Hield) went to pick and slipped it. I thought that gave Isaiah (Cousins) a little crease to shoot his shot and go left like that. Isaiah and Buddy obviously made a lot of big plays down the stretch to get us back in the game and take the lead. Then Isaiah had some big time plays late in the game to maintain the lead. I’m happy for Isaiah. He had a terrific game. Defensively, he turned it around with his intensity out front.”
On Ben Simmons only taking one shot in the last ten minutes of the game…
“I thought our guys were a little bit more active and little bit more aggressive. He’s such a terrific player. Khadeem (Lattin) stepped around and got a couple steals late in the game. Ryan (Spangler) is always active, but Ben (Simmons) is tough. He’s a tough matchup.”
On his confidence with Isaiah Cousins taking the last shot…
“The two guys that were involved had a high level of confidence the last few minutes. I liked the idea of Isaiah getting to his spot and getting off a good shot.”
On the possibility of Tim Quarterman getting fouled on his last drive of the game…
“There is always a possibility. It either happens or doesn’t. You don’t have too much time to think about it. He covered a lot of distance in those last three seconds. He’s a fast guy and a good player. They have a lot of good players.
Oklahoma Player Quotes
Guard Buddy Hield
On what he saw the last play…
“I just saw Coach (Kruger) draw the play up. Tim (Quarterman) was guarding me and he was calling ‘screen, screen, screen’, and Isaiah (Cousins) did a good job selling it, and he told me screen and after that his guy fell asleep a little bit because he didn’t want to switch it, and like Coach said got his favorite pull-up shot.”
On Isaiah Cousins performance over the last few games…
“He’s been really good. He turned the team around. That’s him and his play-making abilities and making shots and creating for others and it turned the team around a lot. I feel like Isaiah (Cousins) was the one who turned the second half around. He made a lot of defensive plays to get after (Tim) Quarterman. He set the tone and everybody just fed off his energy. That was good for us, we needed that.”
About shots falling for LSU and not Oklahoma…
“It was weird watching film. They never seemed to make a lot shots, but being the number one team in the country, everybody wants to play you. You have a target on your back. Of course guys are going to make shots, but we just got ta grind it out. We’re a veteran ball club and Coach (Kruger) is doing a good job leading us. He just told us stick together as a group. Like I said, Isaiah coming in the second half he set the tone for us and that’s what veterans do.”
About being able to come back…
“That’s all we were saying was make stops. Coach kept preaching ‘get stops’ and even when the shots weren’t falling we felt we were still making progress. It was gonna break at some point and when we got our chance we were gonna take advantage of it.”
On the atmosphere…
“Yes sir, it was loud. I figured it was gonna be loud just watching the football games and how crazy it is. Even during warm-ups the fans were shouting. It was a good atmosphere and it was good for us because when we go to Big 12 play we’ll be used to that.”
On second half performance…
“It’s all confidence. My teammates kept lifting me up even though I started off missing the first two in the second half. Coach, my teammates, and Isaiah (Cousins), they found me good spots and I was able to knock down a good rate of shots.”
Guard Isaiah Cousins
What he saw on the final play, game-winning shot…
“I was basically seeing what was Buddy’s man going to do. If he was going to show on the screen then I was gonna throw it right back to Buddy, but he just stayed with Buddy, so I just thought a dribble pull-up would be good.”
About shots falling for LSU and not Oklahoma…
“I felt if we just kept playing solid defense and getting the rebounds and playing together as a team we thought we would finally get it together.”