FINAL: Kentucky blows 15-point lead against LSU, falls 75-74 on buzzer-beater

A minute into the second half, Kentucky led the LSU Tigers by 15 points. And yet, the Wildcats managed to leave Baton Rouge with its toughest loss of the season so far.

It came down to the final second, too. LSU’s Tyrell Ward scored on a putback layup right at the buzzer to lift the Tigers (14-12; 6-7 SEC) past No. 17 Kentucky (18-8; 8-5 SEC) by a final score of 75-74. Not even Rob Dillingham‘s second-half masterclass — 21 points on 7-11 shooting — could save the Wildcats from a disappointing collapse.

Losses don’t get much tougher than this one…

TYRELL WARD OH MY GOODNESS

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/wk5MsMtpvR

— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) February 22, 2024

Dillingham did all he could down the stretch to save Kentucky, hitting difficult shot after difficult shot. He hit the would-be game-winner with 13 seconds left to put the ‘Cats up by one, but his team couldn’t get one final defensive stop. Dillingham finished with 23 points while Antonio Reeves led all scorers with 25 points. No other Kentucky player reached double-figures in scoring.

The first half of this game was, admittedly, not easy on the eyes. But to start, both teams did get out running early on and it felt like we might be in for a track meet. Eight minutes into the contest, LSU, who was without leading scorer Jalen Cook due to injury, was ahead 19-18. Reeves was already up to nine points, all of them coming during a solo scoring run. But the shooting went very cold, very fast.

Kentucky did finally lock in a bit more on defense to prevent LSU from getting easy buckets, but several misses right at the rim cost the Wildcats valuable points on the other end. Both teams went on extensive scoring droughts. UK went over five minutes without a field goal late in the first half while the Tigers did the same for over a six-minute stretch and then again for another four-minute span.

With 2:23 left until halftime, Kentucky was down by one, 27-26, but finally hit a groove on offense. The ‘Cats went on a 10-0 run to close the half, taking a 36-27 lead into the locker room. Reeves led the way with a game-high 16 points while Adou Thiero and Justin Edwards chipped in six apiece. LSU was already up to 11 turnovers at the break.

Kentucky remained hot out of the gate. Back-to-back triples from Reeves and Edwards forced LSU into a timeout not even a minute into the second half — a 15-point game in the blink of an eye. But the quick break worked for the Tigers. LSU immediately countered with a 15-2 run that made it a 44-42 score before the first media timeout.

LSU would even take the lead back on the heels of another Kentucky scoring drought, which reached over six minutes of in-game action before Reed Sheppard converted an and-one to put the ‘Cats back in front, 49-48. It was a back-and-forth affair from there (with plenty of Jay Williams nonsense mixed in from the announcer’s booth).

At the under-eight-minute media timeout, LSU held a five-point lead, although that was reduced to three after an incorrect goaltending call on Kentucky was reversed. Dillingham, who was trying to get himself rolling, scored out of the quick break to make it just a one-point LSU edge. Another big shot from Dillingham soon after, this one a three-pointer, tied the game at 67-67 with 2:30 left in regulation.

A minute later with the score knotted at 69-69, LSU’s Will Baker canned a clutch triple to put the Tigers ahead by three. Dillingham continued to heat up though, soon converting an and-one that cut LSU’s advantage down to one, 73-72, with under 60 seconds to go. Thiero would come up with a steal on the other end and UK called a timeout with 20 ticks on the clock.

Dillingham came through one more time for Kentucky with his timely stepback jumper. That shot put the ‘Cats up by one, but a broken final play by LSU somehow found the hands of Ward as he lofted the game-winner right through the net.

Up next: Kentucky will return home this Saturday for a showdown with No. 13 Alabama (19-7; 11-2 SEC) at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. EST on CBS.