It wasn’t the prettiest game, but the LSU men’s basketball team will take it.
On a night when the Tigers committed 19 turnovers, LSU (15-4, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) received big performances from sophomore forwards Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin and rallied to defeat Vanderbilt (11-8, 1-5 SEC) in overtime, 79-75, Saturday night in Memorial Gymnasium.
Mickey finished with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. Martin secured his eight career double-double with 12 boards and 19 points, including a pair of clutch free throws in overtime to ice the game for the Tigers, who improved to 3-1 in overtime games this season.
Tied 69-69 to start the extra period, LSU sophomore guard Tim Quarterman hit a jumper to give the Tigers their first lead since the 4:56 mark in the first half. Martin then connected on a layup to give the visitors a 73-69 advantage.
Vanderbilt freshman guard Riley LaChance then hit consecutive jumpers to knot the game for the ninth time, but Quarterman quieted the crowd with four straight points of his own.
However, Quarterman missed two free throws as LSU led 77-75 with 19 seconds left. But Vanderbilt freshman guard Shelton Mitchell missed a potential game-tying jumper with four seconds left.
Martin grabbed the board and was fouled before hitting both free throws to lift the Tigers to victory and their best 19-game start since the 2008-09 season.
“I thought [the Tigers] did a tremendous job of digging down deep, which we had to,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones, who improved to 4-0 against Vanderbilt. “Playing in this venue is a very tough place to play. I thought our guys came back out in the second half understanding the type of game we were in. We grinded it out.”
LSU’s play in the second half was a far cry from the first. The Tigers turned the ball over nine times and shot 36 percent (12-of-33) in the first 20 minutes of play. It was LSU’s worst shooting first half since going 35 percent in the first half against Missouri on Jan. 8.
There were 14 lead changes during the sloppy, back-and-forth first half, but Vanderbilt ended it on a 10-5 run to take a 35-30 lead into the break.
With sophomore center Damian Jones, the SEC’s fifth-leading scorer, limited to eight first-half minutes because of foul trouble, the Commodores turned to sophomore forward Luke Kornet. The Lantana, Texas native scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in the first half on 7-of-11 shooting.
“Our guys are young, but they’re growing up and making a great deal of progress,” Jones said. “In the first half, Vanderbilt shot a great percentage from the field, but we did not shoot it well. Again, our guys were able to roll up their sleeves.”
Vanderbilt freshman guard Wade Baldwin IV delivered another surprise performance for the home team. Baldwin went 4-for-4 from deep and scored a career-high 18 points for the Commodores, who dropped to 42.3 percent from the field in the second half after shooting 45 percent in the first.
With LSU struggling from the floor in the first half, Martin and Mickey kept the Tigers in the game. The duo combined for 23 points for LSU on 9-of-19 shooting in the first half. Martin also made five free throws.
“Both [Martin and Mickey] are excellent players and play with a great deal of energy,” Jones said. “They put a lot of pressure on the opposing teams all time. Anytime you put those guys in situations where they’re making plays towards the basket, it’s tough a lot of times and a tough matchup.”
However, the rest of the team didn’t provide much help. Excluding Martin and Mickey, LSU went 3-for-14 from the field in the first half, including a 1-for-7 mark from 3-point territory.
Vanderbilt built its lead to as many as eight points with 17:25 left in regulation, but that’s when the Tigers made their surge. In the second half, LSU shot 60 percent from the floor, including 5-for-8 from 3-point territory.
LSU freshman guard Jalyn Patterson, who scored 10 off the bench, hit two 3-pointers in a 2:10 span to knot the game, 59-59. After another Vanderbilt run, junior guard Keith Hornsby drilled a 3 from the wing to pull LSU within one point, 67-66, with 3:26 left in regulation.
Following a Commodores dunk, Mickey scored hit a jumper and a free throw to send the game into overtime, where LSU would hold on for its fourth win in five games.