Barber scores 20 in NC State upset of No. 22 LSU in OT
NEW YORK — Ben Simmons did not impact the game with his shooting. His passing might have had even more of an impact if LSU was able to make more plays.
He had 10 assists and 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double, but the 22nd-ranked Tigers were handed an 83-72 loss by North Carolina State Tuesday night in the consolation game of the Legends Classic.
Simmons became the eighth LSU player in the past 42 years to get 20 points and 20 rebounds Monday against Marquette, but with North Carolina constantly crowding the paint, he turned into more of a passer than a shooter.
The Australian, who is projected to be the No. 1 pick in next year's draft and had 51 NBA personnel in attendance Monday, missed his first five shots before hitting a layup with 38 seconds remaining in regulation that forged a 65-65 tie. He missed the subsequent foul shot and was a non-factor after regulation, fouling out in the first minute of overtime.
"That's what probably people have to learn to appreciate being that he has the ability to impact the game in a lot of different ways," LSU coach Johnny Jones said. "Every night he's not going to come out and score, a lot of people are going to devise maybe to try and take him away. When you look at 10 assists, it could have been more. He put his teammates in great situations to get open shots and if they're able to deliver it's a great night for us."
Even though Simmons was more of a passer than a shooter, it did not help LSU, which shot 36 percent. Tim Quarterman led the Tigers with 19 points while Brandon Sampson came off the bench and added 18.
LSU rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second half but could not make the plays in overtime, getting outscored by an 18-7 margin.
The Wolfpack never trailed after Malik-Abdul Abu scored on the first possession of overtime though the next few minutes were not easy.
"I'm proud of all of them," Gottfried said. "We're here to win but at the same time we've got to learn how to become a good basketball team and tonight we took a big step forward."
LSU was within 73-72 on a 3-pointer by Sampson with 1:50 remaining but nearly a minute later, Cody Martin drove for a layup and a 75-72 edge. After Quarterman missed a layup, Maverick Rowan converted a layup with 38 seconds remaining to ice it.
"We just had a couple of breakdowns on defense," Quarterman said.
Anthony Barber led five in double figures for North Carolina State, getting 12 of his 20 points at the foul line. Caleb Martin had 16, Abu collected 15 and 12, Cody Martin added 14 and Rowan contributed 10.
TIP-INS
LSU: Sampson came off the bench for the first time after shooting 32.4 percent (12-of-37) in his first four games. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Jalyn Patterson, who had shot 21 percent (6-of-17) in the first four games. ... Quarterman needs two assists to become the 31st player to reach 200 assists in school history.
North Carolina State: Tuesday was a rematch of last year's NCAA second round tournament game, which the Wolfpack won by a 66-65 margin. LSU led by 14 at halftime and NC State's defense held the Tigers to 29.2 percent shooting in the second half while BeeJay Anya hit the game-winning shot with one-tenth of a second remaining. ... Caleb Martin was shaken up briefly with about six minutes remaining in the first half when he took an elbow to the face by LSU center Elbert Robinson III. Martin stayed in the game and hit a 3-pointer a few possessions later.
PHENOMENAL BARBER: Anthony Barber had a trip to remember to New York as he scored 42 points and made 21 of 23 free throws in the two games. Barber wound playing all 43 minutes Tuesday after sitting for only three minutes Monday and coach Mark Gottfried described the performance by his junior guard as "phenomenal"
UP NEXT
LSU: at Charleston on Monday
North Carolina State: Winthrop on Friday
