NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The screech of an official’s whistle has become a nauseating sound for the LSU men’s basketball team.
Playing with limited depth for majority of the second half of the season, fouls has plagued the Tigers throughout Southeastern Conference play, sending players like sophomore forward Craig Victor and freshman forward Ben Simmons to the bench at inopportune times.
The last thing the No. 4-seed Tigers (19-13, 11-7 SEC) needed in the quarterfinals of SEC tournament, battling a hot Tennessee team, was foul trouble.
So what happened less than five minutes into Friday’s contest at Bridgestone Arena? Simmons picked up two fouls less than five minutes into the game. By the end of the first half, five different Tigers had at least two fouls.
Yet, No. 4-seed LSU withstood the flurry of whistles, stepping on the gas pedal down the stretch in 84-75 win against No. 12-seed Volunteers (15-19, 6-12 SEC).
Led by freshman guard Antonio Blakeney’s game-high 22 points, the Tigers broke a 59-59 tie with 5:30 left and surged on a 10-0 run on its way to semifinal berth in the league tournament. The Tigers will square off against No. 1-seed Texas A&M at noon tomorrow, which will be the third meeting between the two teams this season.
While Blakeney led the offensive charge in the second half for the Tigers, knocking down all nine of his free throw attempts, the biggest key to the second-half success was the play of the two other LSU starting guards.
In perhaps his best overall performance since the Jan. 5 Kentucky win, junior guard Tim Quarterman scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to match seven assists and five rebounds.
“I think we didn’t get stagnant this game,” Quarterman said of the second-half adjustments. “We just continued to believe in our offense. We shared the ball. We made big plays for each other…I just think we just executed big as a team, and then we went back on the other end to try to get stops.”
Making just his second start in the last 13 league matchups, senior guard Josh Gray’s on-ball defense frustrated Tennessee leading-scorer Armani Moore, complementing an 11-point outing. Gray, who found out he was starting yesterday, was among five LSU players in double figures and was his first double-digit game since Feb. 2 against Auburn.
Moore finished with just six points as he played with four fouls for a chunk of the second half.
“I don’t think [Tennessee plays] with a traditional point guard right now, and we wanted to to try to extend our defense,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “Armani Moore, as effective as he was in Knoxville when we played against them, wasn’t as effective tonight, and I thought Josh would do a good job.”
Despite leading by as many nine points in the first half, LSU entered halftime down by one amid 12 team fouls in the first 20 minutes, including a pair of early offensive fouls called on Simmons.
Simmons, who had 15 points and eight rebounds on the day, picked up the second of his two infractions with 15:13 left in the period, sitting on the bench for remainder of the half.
“It’s frustrating,” Simmons said of sitting for most of the first half. “But, obviously, it was for the best for the team for coach to do that. It made sense to come in, in the second half, and I didn’t have to worry about getting that third foul because I was going to stay in.”
Without Simmons on the floor, LSU’s held on to lead for almost 19 minutes, but the offensive productivity slowly declined as more players were whistled for fouls, including a second foul on Victor with 3:25 left in the half.
However, the Volunteers were also on the receiving end of whistles as the two teams combined for 22 team fouls.
Tennessee outscored LSU, 16-6, over the final five minutes of the period en route to taking a 33-32 advantage heading into the locker room. The Tigers finished shooting 35.1 percent from the field, including a 1-of-7 clip from three-point territory.
But the Tigers came out of the break firing on all cylinders to begin the second half. Capped by Gray’s triple from the wing, LSU started the half on a 9-2 run to take a 41-35 lead, forcing a 30-second time from Tennessee less than three minutes into the half.
Sparked by a 7-0 run, the Volunteers clawed back in, taking a 53-52 lead on two free throws from guard Robert Hubbs III. Victor responded on the next possession with a two-handed slam before an LSU 30-second timeout, and the two teams traded baskets over the next 2:36 of game time.
Quarterman, though, followed with an up-and-under basket, the second of consecutive baskets by the third-year Tiger. Then, sophomore guard Jalyn Patterson swiped Tennessee guard Detrick Mostella and dished it to Simmons for an uncontested layup.
Quarterman’s layup started the 10-0 run, which became a 14-2 run to give the Tigers a 73-61 lead with 1:26 left. Over the final 3:26 of the game, LSU didn’t allow Tennessee to get within seven points.
Unlike many of LSU’s recent losses, where the Tigers consistently struggled to hold team to low point totals in the second half, LSU’s defense changed the outlook of the game, Blakeney said.
“I just think how hard we played defensively was the difference in the game,” he said. “Josh started the game, and he really got it going for us defensively.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter: @JamesBewers_TDR.