By BRYAN LAZARE
Georgia forward Nemanja Djurisic (42) looks past LSU forward Jordan Mickey (25) for an open teammate during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/The Baton Rouge Advocate, Hilary Scheinuk)
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU had seen just two nights ago what transpired Saturday night against Georgia.
On Thursday, LSU lost an eight-point lead in the second half and fell to Missouri in overtime. Against the Bulldogs, the Tigers again had an eight-point advantage in the second half and saw the game go into overtime.
But the Tigers were able to wipe out a nine-point deficit in the first overtime period before escaping with an 87-84 double-overtime victory against Georgia.
Tim Quarterman led LSU (12-3, 1-1) with a career-high 27 points and made a key layup with 2:11 remaining in the second overtime.
Quarterman also scored LSU’s last six points in the first overtime period. With the Tigers trailing 80-74, he connected on his sixth 3-pointer of the game. Then, Quarterman converted a three-point play with 18 seconds remaining to tie the score at 80.
“I told all my teammates in the huddle that we are not going to give up and we are going to continue to fight,” Quarterman said. “We got some turnovers, some easy baskets and made some difficult shots. We fought as a team and overcame.”
J.J. Frazier missed a 3-point shot at the first-overtime buzzer for the Bulldogs.
Georgia (9-5, 0-2) went ahead 82-80 in the second overtime on Charles Mann’s free throws.
After Keith Hornsby made 1 of 2 free throws, LSU took the lead for good at 83-82 on Jalyn Patterson’s foul shots.
Hornsby again made 1 of 2 free throws, and Quarterman’s layup made it a two-possession game at 86-82.
Yante Maten and Marcus Thornton each made 1 of 2 foul shots to pull the Bulldogs within 86-84. After an exchange of turnovers, Patterson made 1 of 2 free throws to leave the Bulldogs with an opportunity to tie the score.
Mann tried to get off a 3-point shot with three seconds remaining, but the ball barely got out of his hands. It appeared that Mann could have been fouled on that last play.
“I don’t have a whistle and I’m not going to think that this game had anything to do with officiating,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “We made too many mistakes. We just made some really silly plays to cost us the game. I’d have to watch the last play on tape.”
Jordan Mickey had 17 points for LSU, while both Josh Gray and Patterson each added 15.
Kenny Gaines had 19 points, Thornton scored 16 and Nemanja Djurisic 15 for Georgia.
“We continued to battle tonight,” LSU coach Johnny Jones said. “We had an opportunity to win the game at the end and didn’t come up with the big rebound which put the game into overtime. Then, being down eight points with a minute-plus left, we still put ourselves in position to win.”
Georgia forced overtime on Thornton’s tip-in with 1.9 seconds remaining.
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TIP-INS
Georgia: Marcus Thornton outplayed LSU’s two inside players — Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin. Thornton scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.
LSU: The Tigers ended a three-game regular-season losing streak against Georgia. The Bulldogs won both games last season and defeated LSU in the only matchup two seasons ago. The Tigers did defeat Georgia in the SEC tournament in 2013.
UP NEXT
Georgia visits Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
LSU visits Ole Miss on Wednesday.
GEORGIA STUNG BY HOMEGROWN PLAYERS
Tim Quarterman and Jalyn Patterson, who combined for 42 points, are both Georgia natives. Quarterman, who finished with 27 points and five assists, played his high school ball in Savannah. Patterson, whose home town is Alpharetta, scored 15 points.
GIVING UP LEADS
Both LSU and Georgia could have prevented the game from reaching a second overtime. The Tigers had a 64-56 lead with five minutes remaining in regulation. The Bulldogs ended regulation on an 11-3 run. Then, Georgia had a 77-68 lead in the first overtime with 2:10 remaining. LSU closed the first overtime on a 12-3 run.
CLOSE LOSSES
Georgia has lost five games this season with three of the defeats coming by four points or less. Prior to Saturday’s 87-84 setback at the hands of LSU, the Bulldogs were beaten 66-62 by Minnesota and 79-75 by Arkansas in their SEC opener.