Kentucky Wildcats Lose to Tigers in Tearjerking Fashion
Photo Credit: Matthew Hinton/AP
BATON ROUGE, LA—The Kentucky Wildcats (18-8) lost to the Louisiana State University Tigers (14-12) in heartbreaking fashion this past Tuesday, losing off of a miracle buzzer beater from forward Tyrell Ward. The final score of the game was 75-74.
The Wildcats had a commanding 36-27 lead at the end of the first half. The team shot 4-10 from beyond the arc against the Tigers defense. Most of the first half saw the Wildcats cut inside to the paint with key contributions from guards Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard. In the second half, the Tigers outscored Kentucky by ten points, scoring 48 in the second half to Kentucky’s 38.
Ward was the leading scorer for the Tigers in the win. Scoring 17 points while shooting three-for-four from beyond the arc. The Tigers also saw contributions from the rest of the team such as F Jalen Reed and G Jordan Wright who each scored 13 points.
The leading scorers for the Wildcats were Reeves and G Rob Dillingham. Reeves scored 25 points and shot three-for-five from beyond the arc while shooting 8-15 overall. Dillingham was one of only two bench players for the Wildcats to score points and get meaningful playing time. In just 22 minutes, Dillingham scored 23 points while shooting two-for-six from beyond the arc and 8-16 overall.
The lone bench player to have a meaningful contribution was Sheppard who had seven points and five steals on a great defensive performance from the freshman.
This puts the Wildcats in tied with the Florida Gators for fifth place in SEC conference play with eight wins and five losses. Meanwhile the Tigers are eighth in the conference with a six win and seven loss record in conference play.
The Wildcats after this heartbreaking loss will return home this Saturday, Feb. 24 to take on the conference leading Alabama Crimson Tide (19-7, 11-2 in conference play). Meanwhile the Tigers will host the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-8 overall, 7-6 in conference play).
