The LSU men’s basketball team finished in sixth place in the 2014 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, losing to Clemson 64-61 after another poor shooting performance, going 1-2 in the preseason tournament.
LSU finished the game shooting 37.7 percent from the field, going 23-for-61 on the game. LSU has been plagued by shooting troubles early this season, averaging 44.5 percent from the field including a 36.6 percent performance against Texas Tech.
LSU used a strong finish to the first half to take a 31-30 lead into halftime because of sophomore Jordan Mickey’s dominating first half performance. Mickey scored a halftime-high 16 points and tallied seven rebounds while missing only two shots in the first.
LSU rode sophomores Tim Quarterman and Mickey to keep them in the game.
Quarterman had his best game of the season, scoring 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Quarterman also snagged seven rebounds.
Mickey finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, giving him his second double-double in a row, with three on the year.
LSU took a 56-54 lead into the final three minutes of the game, but couldn’t hold on letting Clemson go on a 12-5 run to end the game with LSU making only one of its last five field goals.
Mickey was a bright spot early for LSU, netting six points on 2-of-3 shooting while also tallying three rebounds halfway through the first.
LSU’s offense began to pick up in the latter half of the first, at one point making 5 of its last 6 to crawl into the lead on the backs of Mickey and Tim Quarterman.
Quarterman was on his game early, making both his shots including a 3-pointer.
Clemson’s lack of depth due to injury was tested late in the first with many of its starters getting into foul trouble early with a team total of six fouls. LSU put the ball on the floor, tallying 16 points in the paint in the half due to Clemson’s vulnerability.
Both teams struggled with turnovers in the opening half, with both sides finishing with nine including a span of four turnovers in less than two minutes by LSU.
Clemson jumped out to an early 6-2 lead after another sluggish start from the field for LSU. LSU was 1-for-7 early, going 14 percent from the field. Clemson shot 50 percent on its first four shots, nailing two three pointers on its way to an early lead.
LSU ran into turnover trouble early committing three turnovers in 18 seconds of game time, while still shooting under 30 percent. LSU went 3-for-12 eight minutes into the game falling to an early 10-4 deficit.
But the shots wouldn’t fall after a strong end to the first half, with LSU making 10-of-31 in the latter half.
LSU has had only one game this season in which it has shot for more than 50 percent against Gardner-Webb in the season opener.