LSU falls to NC State

PITTSBURGH -- After building a 14-point halftime advantage, the LSU men's basketball team ran out of gas late against NC State and was eliminated from the 2015 NCAA Tournament, 66-65, late Thursday night at Consol Energy Center.

The Wolfpack got a tip-ins and a jumper in the paint from forward Beejay Anya - his only two field goals of the game - with 46 and 0.1 seconds to play to cap an 18-3 NC State run and knock the Tigers out of their first Big Dance since 2009 -- and the first under third-year head coach Johnny Jones.

Using a 23-6 run that spanned the halves, LSU (22-11) pulled ahead 42-26 in the first 15 seconds of the second half and appeared destined for a second-round matchup with the East region's top-seed, Villanova.

However, with four starters playing at least 36 minutes, the Tigers weren't able to sustain the energy while the Wolfpack gained momentum. LSU missed all 12 field goal attempts in the final 10:26 and its last six free throws in the final 3:59.

LSU guard Tim Quarterman led the way with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting with nine rebounds and seven assists. Both Jarell Martin (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Jordan Mickey (12 points, 14 rebounds) had double doubles for the Tigers, while Mickey had six blocked shots.

No. 8-seeded NC State (21-13) advanced to face top-seeded Villanova on Saturday in the Third Round. The Wolfpack was led by Anthony Barbar, who had 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Abdul-Malik Abu added 13 points, while former Tiger Ralston Turner finished with nine points on 4-of-14 shooting.

NC State was 28-of-66 shooting including 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from three-point range. The Wolfpack was 5-of-7 from the free throw line, while LSU finished 12 of 22.

Early in the game, Barber made a pair of shots to put NC State ahead 6-2. LSU answered with a layup by Quarterman, a three pointer by Keith Hornsby and another layup by Martin on a terrific pass by Mickey to lead 9-8.

The teams traded the lead over the next seven minutes until Mickey's one-handed put-back dunk put LSU ahead 21-20 and started a 21-6 run to end the half. During the run, LSU's defense led to transition offense and massive dunks by Martin and Mickey.

The Tigers rolled into the half leading by 14, 40-26.

A short jumper by Mickey pushed LSU's lead to 16 in the first 15 seconds of the second half, and LSU weathered a run by NC State by getting a pair of baskets from Quarterman including a double-pump dunk to lead 52-40 with 14:24 to play.

Guard Jalyn Patterson and Hornsby hit NBA-range three pointers on consecutive possessions to push the Tigers advantage to 58-45. The Tigers' last field goal of the game was Martin's short jumper that fell with 10:26 to play. LSU was ahead 60-48 and shooting 50 percent from the field (24 of 48) when the tables turned, and all the bounces on the rim went NC State's way.

The Wolfpack put together an 18-3 run including Anya's tip-in of a missed three pointer with 46 seconds left that cut LSU's advantage to 65-64. With 27 seconds left, Mickey's jumper rolled off the rim and gave NC State a chance for the victory.

After a timeout with 13.9 seconds to play, NC State tried to isolate Lacey against Quarterman, but the LSU guard forced him to give up the ball near the free throw line with five seconds left. He handed the ball off to Anya who was nearly tied by Mickey before pulling away and releasing a left-handed hook shot from the middle of the lane with 2.5 seconds left. The shot bounced off the left side of the rim, hit the backboard, bounced twice on the front of the rum and fell with 0.1 seconds to play.

Attendance was announced as 16,170 for the evening session.