Stifled by both double and triple teams throughout the first half of LSU’s Southeastern Conference tournament opener against Alabama, LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III couldn’t shoulder the offensive load.
With their offensive pillar stagnated, the shaky Tiger offense searched for a spark.
It got two.
Senior forward Shavon Coleman buried five 3-pointers, while freshman guard Tim Quarterman came off the bench to post a career-high 12 points, leading the Tigers to a 68-56 victory against the Crimson Tide in Atlanta.
“We’ve been seeing a lot in Tim [Quarterman],” Coleman said. “He’s been coming out having great practice. He’s been working hard. I had a good feeling he was going to come out and give us some great minutes.”
The Tigers exploited the Crimson Tide’s 2-3 zone to the tune of 50 percent shooting, including 11-of-22 from 3-point land. The 11 3-pointers were a season high for the Tigers (19-12, 10-9 SEC)
The win sends LSU into a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 seed Kentucky — the third meeting between the two this season.
Quarterman sparked a crucial 17-3 run over the last 8:21 of the first half, creating separation from an Alabama squad that started the game hot from behind the 3-point line.
The Savannah, Ga., native subbed into the game with 7:41 to go and the Tigers down a point. He went to work immediately, streaking to the basket for a layup off a designed inbounds play to give LSU its first lead since the 11:44 mark.
After O’Bryant notched a layup on the Tigers’ next possession then corralled a missed Tide jumper, Quarterman splashed home a 3-pointer from the wing to push LSU’s lead to six.
He went on to score four of the Tigers’ next eight points, punctuated by an emphatic putback dunk to send the Tigers to the locker room with a 35-24 advantage.
“[Quarterman] was the difference in the game,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones in his postgame radio interview. “He came in and made some huge plays that set the tone for us. Our guys were able to feed off that and never looked back.”
O’Bryant found room to breathe in the second half, using spin moves and drop steps to break away from the Alabama defense to hit 3-of-4 from the field and score seven of his 11 points.
“Give credit to Johnny, he didn’t force anything,” Jones said. “[Alabama] did a great job of doubling down and being very aggressive with their traps on him. Johnny did an excellent job after that initial trap they set on him. … He did a good job of getting that ball out of there.”
The Crimson Tide scored the first five points of the second half to trim LSU’s lead to six — the closest Alabama would get the rest of the way.
After O’Bryant split a pair of free throws, freshman forward Jarell Martin ripped off five straight points to push the lead back to 10. The teams traded baskets for a while thereafter, but the Crimson Tide were never able to get the deficit less than eight.
Coleman and senior guard Andre Stringer hit consecutive 3-pointers with just less than five minutes to go, pushing the lead to 15 and sowing up the victory that sends the Tigers into familiar territory against the Wildcats.
“We have to go out and make sure that we’re probably playing one of our better games all year,” Jones said. “Kentucky will come in and they will have an edge about themselves tomorrow and we’re just going to have to play well.”