LSU men’s basketball gains victory over undefeated West Virginia

Article by Matt Dunaway Graphic By Louisiana State University.
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Josh Gray used a screen from Jordan Mickey at the top of the key and drove the lane for the game-winning layup with 7.4 seconds remaining to vault the LSU men’s basketball team to a 74-73 comeback  victory over undefeated and No. 16 West Virginia Thursday at WVU Coliseum.
LSU (6-2) survived an 18-1 run by the Mountaineers that bookended the close of the first half and the start of the second half. The comeback gave the Tigers their first road win over a ranked opponent since LSU defeated then No. 13 West Virginia 71-68 in overtime on Nov. 26, 2005.
West Virginia’s Juwan Staten, the preseason Big XII Player of the Year, misfired on a 16-foot jumper on the left elbow. After a missed tip-in attempt, LSU’s Jalyn Patterson raced out with the ball and dribbled out the remaining time on the clock. 

The Tigers were sparked by Tim Quarterman, who racked up a career-high 21 points on 8-of-14 from the floor. He also hauled in seven rebounds coupled with two blocks and two steals. With Quarterman on the floor, LSU outscored the Mountaineers by a plus 20-margin.
Jarell Martin grinded out 18 points and 14 rebounds over his 39 minutes of action before he fouled out. Keith Hornsby chipped in a season’s best 15 points and five rebounds. His fellow backcourt mate, Gray, secured a balanced seven points, seven assists and two steals.
Trailing 52-38 at the 18:07 mark of the second half, Gray kickstarted the LSU rally with a three-ball on the left baseline. The Tigers would put together an 18-4 flurry sparked by seven Quarterman points over the next 8:17 off the clock. Hornsby rattled home a triple from the right wing to knot the score at 56-56 with 9:03 remaining.
The Mountaineers regrouped to regain a 68-62 edge with 3:41 to go. Once again, LSU would dig deep. Quarterman buried a three-pointer from the right wing followed by a Mickey drive in off the spin move and finger roll layup to make it 68-67 with 2:30 left.
Down 71-67 at the 1:32 mark, Martin got a putback layup to draw the Tigers back within one possession. Then, Hornsby knocked down a trifecta on the right wing to give LSU a 72-71 with 30.4 seconds to go.
Six seconds later, West Virginia connected on two free throws to go back ahead by one point to set the stage for Gray’s game-winner.
LSU led for a majority of the first half and led by six points on multiple occassions. The Tigers relied heavily on Martin and Quarterman who combined for 24 points after Mickey was saddled with a pair of fouls two minutes into the contest. Martin nearly tallied a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.  
Staten picked up 11 of his team-leading 17 points for West Virginia during the first half. The Mountaineers also received 13 points from Daxter Miles Jr. and 12 points from Tarik Phillip, respectively.
West Virginia held the Tigers without a field over the last 2:34 and scored eight of the last nine points to take a 43-38 advantage into halftime.
Following LSU’s final exam break, the Tigers will return to the hardwood against Sam Houston State on Saturday, December 13. Tip time is slated 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.