Reed Sheppard breaks down game-winning buzzer beater vs. Mississippi State

The man of the hour in Mississippi State’s Hump should have been Bulldog star Josh Hubbard, but instead, it was another rookie, Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, who stole the spotlight in the final moments.

Hubbard and Sheppard traded one huge play after another down the stretch, particularly in the final minute. Sheppard made four free throws to help ice the game out, but that effort was thwarted by Hubbard, who cashed in on three 3-pointers in the final minute, the last one to tied the game at 89-89 with a few ticks left. But it was once again Reed Sheppard who found the ball in his hands with five seconds left and drove in for the game-winning floater.

After the game, Sheppard was included in the postgame press conferences and was, of course, asked about his heroics in the last seconds. Before breaking down his last shot, though, he tipped his cap to his competitor.

“Well, first off, you got to give Hubbard a big — like, he has some big shots down the stretch, you know, all those 3s he hit are really tough shots,” commented the Kentucky star. But then came his own breakdown of the final possession:

“You know, we threw it in real quick, had about eight seconds, DJ (Wagner) was coming down. I trust DJ in what he was going to do and he tried to penetrate and then pitched it back to me and I was able to get in the lane.”

Sheppard added that his own team was telling him to take over the game as it went on.

“But you know, a lot of that comes from my teammates and giving me confidence the whole game. They’re telling me, ‘just keep playing, keep attacking,’ like, ‘lead us.’ And you know, that’s huge, and they just kept putting confidence in me the whole game.”

With that confidence, he certainly delivered. A reporter also asked if that last shot is something that he, like every Kentucky kid, has practiced in the driveway a million times before.

“Yeah for sure. You know, that’s what everyone did as a little kid,” Sheppard answered. “I’m sure Adou did it as well. As a little kid, I always wanted to play at Kentucky, so being out there and being able to hit a game when a shot for Kentucky is really special for me.”

Special indeed. What a night for the pride of Laurel County in a huge win for Kentucky.