Any time a player’s name is mentioned with former LSU basketball greats Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal, he has probably done something extraordinary.
LSU sophomore guard Tim Quarterman can now make that claim.
After scoring a season-low 23 points in the first half, Quarterman and Tigers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) came out reenergized in the second half on their way to a 73-63 win against Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon in the PMAC.
Quarterman’s triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists was only the eighth triple-double in LSU history and the first time it had been done since O’Neal accomplished the feat in 1992.
The Savannah, Georgia, native was also 7-of-7 from the free throw line and had only one turnover despite LSU coach Johnny Jones’ uncertainty if he would play after sustaining a minor ankle injury at practice yesterday.
Quarterman didn’t even realize he was approaching the rare LSU feat.
“I didn’t know about it until the last couple of minutes of the game,” Quarterman said “[LSU freshman guard] Jalyn [Patterson] was the one who actually told me. He came up to me and told me get another assist at the throw-in. As soon as [LSU sophomore forward] Jordan [Mickey] dunked the ball, I heard the crowd chanting ‘triple-double.’”
Most importantly to Quarterman’s performance on Saturday was his shutdown defense of Ole Miss guard Stefan Moody.
The Rebels’ leading scorer, who is also the leading scorer in conference games, was only 3-of-16 from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range. Moody also fouled out with 49 seconds left in the game.
“To hold [Moody] to only three made field goals throughout the game, I thought Tim did an excellent job,” Jones said. “We brought him into the office yesterday, and we had some defense assignments we had talked about. We wanted to make sure he was locked in on who he wanted to guard and be most effective on. He wanted that assignment.”
Sophomore forward Jarell Martin also paced the Tigers with his 12th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Tigers couldn’t get any momentum going offensively in the first half, shooting only 29.6 percent from the field and trailing 27-23 at halftime. LSU trailed by as many 11 points in the first half, but Martin sparked an 8-1 Tigers’ run in the final six minutes of the first half.
The Tigers turned up the intensity after the break, surging on an 11-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half. Patterson and junior guard Keith Hornsby capped the run with back-to-back treys.
The Tigers led by as many as 12 points in the second half, and Ole Miss never got within four points after Hornsby’s triple.
“To be able to put the first half in the back of our mind and be able to come back like we did in the second half, it feels great,” Hornsby said. “It was great to play well in front of a large crowd today. It was a great win for us and for the fans today.”
Mickey struggled against the Rebels’ zone defense with an 0-for-6 clip from field and three turnovers in the first half, but he rallied to finish the game with 11 points and four rebounds.