The first two minutes of the LSU men’s basketball team’s game against the University of Massachusetts set the tone for what would be a dominant performance by the Tigers.
Junior guard Josh Gray controlled the game with a career high 25 points, five assists and four rebounds. Gray’s performance helped power the Tigers to a 22-point victory, their largest margin of victory season.
“I was just aggressive and was playing for my teammates,” Gray said. “I just tried to lead the team to a W. I feel like it’s my job to go out there and get the guys going, and that’s my main goal. I just had a good night tonight.”
The Tigers (5-2) began with an 8-0 run that saw baskets by sophomore forward Jordan Mickey and Gray and a powerful dunk by sophomore forward Jarell Martin.
Mickey scored 16 points and led the team with five blocks. Sophomore guard Tim Quarterman chalked up 15 points in his 31 minutes.
“It just felt like a regular night. We played hard and just followed the gameplan,” Gray said. “I feel like we sped them up. Our game plan was faster and it worked.”
After racing out to an early lead, the Tigers allowed the Minutemen to climb back into the contest. Midway through the first half, the Tigers led 21-19 after the Minutemen made five field goals in a row.
But the game didn’t stay close for long. A 3-pointer from Quarterman and a layup by Mickey pulled LSU ahead by 3, a lead it would never relinquish.
“We played extremely well on both ends of the floor,” said head coach Johnny Jones. “On defense, we were able to hold composure and make the necessary plays to keep the score to our liking and ahead by double digits.”
The Tigers capitalized on three turnovers by UMass in one minute, scoring four straight field goals on an 11-2 run to extend LSU’s lead to 9.
The first half ended with LSU up 44-32 and solid performances by both Gray and Martin, with 14 points and 10 points respectively.
“We took a lot fewer questionable shots in the first half,” Jones said. “And at half, we told the team we have to come back out and do more of the same in the second half.”
The second half began strong for the Minutemen when a big block led to a dunk by senior forward Maxie Esho, kicking off the scoring. UMass continued with three straight field goals to bring itself within 8.
With about one minute to go in the game, LSU took its largest lead, and extended its advantage to 22.
Turnovers were the one black eye for the Tigers on the night. The Tigers gave up three turnovers in a span of just 19 seconds, leading to a basket and free throw by senior center Cady Lalanne. The Tigers finished the night with 19 total turnovers committed.
“We went back to the playbook. We don’t go against many 3-2 [zones],” Hornsby said. “We just stressed being careful and taking control of the ball, and that’s what we did.”
The Tigers will travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, to play the Mountaineers on Thursday night, but Hornsby said the team will get to enjoy the win and how well they played.
“We still have some work to do, obviously,” Hornsby said. “But tonight is a lot of progress.”