By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky lost in heartbreaking fashion to LSU on Wednesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
Tyrell Ward’s improbable layup at the buzzer lifted LSU to a 75-74 court-storming triumph over the Wildcats and capped a successful second-half comeback by the Tigers, who trailed by 15 early in the second half.
The heroics by Ward came after Rob Dillingham’s bucket with 13 seconds remaining had given No. 17 Kentucky (18-8, 8-5) a 74-73 advantage. But it was the Tigers had just enough time to respond and defeated a ranked opponent for the second time in less than a week. LSU stunned then-No. 11 South Carolina 64-63 last Saturday.
LSU guard Jordan Wright (6) celebrates with forward Tyrell Ward, who hit the game-winning shot against Kentucky (Photo by Matthew Hinton, AP, via Kentucky Today)
Dillingham scored just two points in the opening half, but caught fire in the final 20 minutes. He finished with 23 points, scored 21 of those in the second half, including the go-ahead jumper in the closing seconds
The Wildcats nearly sealed a dramatic, last-minute comeback when Adou Thiero blocked Jordan Wright’s driving shot in the final seconds, but Wright was able to push the ball back up toward Ward, who leapt to grab the ball and quickly release his decisive shot before he came down.
The basket sent jubilant fans pouring onto the floor as security officers scrambled to rope off an area around both benches to keep the crowd from mingling with players and coaches.
Coming off a 70-59 win at Auburn, the Wildcats showed no signs of a letdown early as Antonio Reeves scored nine of Kentucky’s first 16 points, including a string of three straight baskets as the Wildcats made seven of their first 11 field goals. Reeves made his team’s first two 3-pointers in the contest.
Reeves led all scorers with 16 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 25 points. He surpassed 1,000 points in his two-year UK career.
Kentucky scored the last 10 points of the half and led 36-27 at halftime.
The Wildcats opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers by Justin Edwards and Reeves to push the margin to 42-27. The Tigers roared back and used an 11-0 run to close the gap to 44-42 with 16 minutes remaining.
Kentucky now braces for No. 13 Alabama, which rallied to beat 24th-ranked Florida 98-93 in overtime Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, to maintain the top spot in the SEC standings.
Reunion
Former Kentucky forward Damion Collins, who played two seasons for the Wildcats transferred to LSU and didn’t play because of an injury.
Collins has been hampered by nagging injuries in his first season at LSU and has averaged four points in six games for the Tigers this season.
Gametracker: Alabama at Kentucky, 4 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: CBS, UK Radio Network
