FINAL: Reed Sheppard's game-winner puts stamp on Kentucky's comeback over Mississippi State

On Tuesday night, Kentucky didn’t hold a lead until there were under five minutes left in the game. The timing couldn’t have been better though. Reed Sheppard delivered the final blow.

The No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats (20-8; 10-5 SEC) mounted an impressive comeback on the road in Starkville, stealing a 91-89 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs (19-9; 8-7 SEC). UK led for a grand total of 4:14, but that was all they needed to squeak out a huge victory. The freshman backcourt duo of Sheppard and Rob Dillingham saved Kentucky down the stretch.

Sheppard was, without a doubt, the star of the night. The Bluegrass native stuffed the stat sheet with a career-high 32 points (23 in the second half), five rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and two steals in 35 minutes played. After MSU tied the game with 10 seconds left, Sheppard came right back down the floor and hit the game-winning floater with under a second on the clock.

Ball game.

.@reed_sheppard CALLED GAME. pic.twitter.com/iNUVgfMKoW

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 28, 2024

Dillingham only finished with nine points, but all of them came at crucial points in the second half. Antonio Reeves was his usual self, dropping 21 points on 8-15 shooting. Adou Thiero (11 points) and DJ Wagner (10) also reached double-digits in scoring for the ‘Cats.

Talk about a hell of a win…

After Kentucky had seemingly shaken off its slow-starting tendencies in recent games, those issues crept up again on Tuesday.

Mississippi State broke out a 14-3 lead shortly after the first media timeout. The Bulldogs were working Kentucky’s bigs in the paint with little resistance. It wasn’t until Calipari went to his lineup of Sheppard-Dillingham-Reeves-Edwards-Ivisic (which thrived against Alabama) that the ‘Cats finally began to fight back.

Kentucky quickly cut the deficit down to four points as the shots began to fall. After starting 1-7 from the field, the ‘Cats went on to hit 10 of its next 15 shots. With five minutes left until the halftime break, UK now trailed by just two, 30-28. But Mississippi State went right back to work inside, outscoring UK 13-7 to close out the opening half.

With a 43-35 lead at intermission, the Bulldogs were shooting over 53 percent from both the field (16-30) and beyond the arc (5-9). Mississippi State logged 22 points in the paint, held a 20-13 rebounding advantage, and attempted eight more free throws than UK. Sheppard, Wagner, and Reeves all had at least seven points after 20 minutes, but a combined 23 from Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith canceled it out.

The second half couldn’t have started out any worse for Kentucky. Hubbard opened it up by getting fouled on a three-pointer and making the free throw. He followed that by hitting another triple a couple of possessions later. A layup by Shakeel Moore made it a 13-point MSU edge as Calipari was forced to use a timeout.

Kentucky continued to battle though, trimming the Bulldogs’ lead down to seven at the first media timeout. After Mississippi State pushed it back to 11, Reeves went on a timely 6-0 solo run to keep the ‘Cats alive. Sheppard converted an and-one of his own and then dished a beautiful pass to Thiero for a slam. Now barely clinging to a two-point lead, MSU called a timeout.

A fourth made three-pointer from Sheppard brought Kentucky to within one point, the closest the score had been since it was 3-3. MSU always had an answer though. With just a hair under five minutes to go, the Bulldogs led 71-67. But Wagner hit a pair of freebies before Dillingham drilled a triple to give UK its first lead of the entire game. Dillingham then found Aaron Bradshaw for an open dunk.

With 3:17 on the clock at the final media timeout, Kentucky was now in front 74-71.

Sheppard and Dillingham kept their foot on the gas from there. A Dillingham layup was followed by back-to-back scores (the latter an and-one) from Sheppard, who then blocked a three-point attempt by MSU. Dillingham hit a pair of free throws after that. All the sudden, UK held an 83-75 lead with under a minute to play.

Mississippi State refused to go away quietly though. Even while facing a six-point hole, the Bulldogs hit big shots. After Sheppard knocked in two clutch free throws, a three-pointer from Hubbard with 10 seconds left tied the game. But Sheppard sprinted down the floor and rose up for a tough shot in the paint that fell through, lifting UK to a huge win on the road.

Up next: Kentucky returns to Rupp Arena on Saturday for a matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks (14-13; 5-9 SEC). Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. EST on CBS.