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Gray, LSU upend No. 16 West Virginia

Dec 5, 2014 - 6:45 AM Morgantown, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - Josh Gray's layup with six seconds to go lifted LSU to a 74-73 win over No. 16 West Virginia in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge game on Thursday.

LSU trailed by one after Daxter Miles Jr.'s tip-in. Out of a timeout, Gray drove the lane on an isolation play for an uncontested layup to push the Tigers in front.

"We practice that every day. That's a flat screen," said WVU head coach Bob Huggins. "I don't get how you shoot a layup from the top of the key and nobody helps."

Juwan Staten proceeded to take the ball up the floor for the final shot, but his attempt from just inside the arc was long and LSU held on for the win.

Tim Quarterman had 21 points off the bench and Jarell Martin scored 18 points with 14 rebounds for the Tigers (6-2), who had lost 14 straight road games against ranked opponents since beating No. 13 West Virginia in overtime in 2005.

Jordan Mickey, LSU's leading scorer, spent most of the first half on the bench due to foul trouble and finished with four points and six rebounds.

Staten paced the Mountaineers (7-1) with 17 points and Miles totaled 13.

"Everything we set to do, we did the opposite," said Huggins.

LSU, which committed 19 turnovers in a win over UMass its last time out, had another tough time protecting the ball in this one, turning it over 24 times.

Gray had a team-high eight of those turnovers, however, made amends for them late.

The Mountaineers used momentum from the end of the first half to open the second on a 9-0 run. Following a Gary Browne steal, Miles canned a 3-pointer before Jonathan Holton swiped the ball away in LSU's defensive zone and finished a layup to make it 52-38.

The Tigers worked their way back, however, scoring 10 straight to turn a 12- point deficit into a 55-53 game with 11 minutes left. Keith Hornsby, who supplied 15 points, tied the game minutes later with a 3-pointer.

The lead was three for the Mountaineers and LSU committed another turnover. Miles picked up the loose ball by the baseline, was fouled on his drive and hit 1-of-2 from the stripe to make it a two-possession game.

Quarterman came storming in for a putback dunk at the other end, then Hornsby nailed a corner 3 to give the Tigers a 72-71 lead with 33 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, West Virginia had trouble inbounding the ball, but Holton was fouled by Martin, who picked up his fifth foul on the play. Holton missed the free throw, then Miles just got a hand on the rebound to tip it in for the lead.

It then became a little frantic at the Coliseum, as LSU nearly threw the ball away. Hornsby was fouled hard on the play and came up bleeding from his nose, but officials ruled it a common foul. Gray then pushed the visitors in front with his driving layup.

Staten's layup gave the Mountaineers a 13-11 lead with over 13 minutes left in the first half, then Quarterman scored six points during an 11-3 burst for the Tigers. Quarterman hit a 3-pointer and a three-point play on back-to-back possessions to help the visitors take a 22-16 advantage.

West Virginia regained the lead on Elijah Macon's three-point play later which was part of a 9-1 run to end the half for a 43-38 edge at the break.

Game Notes

LSU improved to 2-2 on the road this season and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the all- time series with West Virginia ... Mickey's first basket came with 4:59 left in second half ... The Mountaineers, who entered the game leading the nation with 20.7 offensive rebounds per game, finished with 15 offensive boards in the loss ... The Tigers shot 46 percent from the floor ... West Virginia scored 25 points off turnovers.