Tyrell Ward saved the day for LSU on Wednesday night.
Ward somehow managed to tip in a buzzer-beater to lift the Tigers to a huge 75-74 win over No. 17 Kentucky just before time expired after Adou Thiero came up with a huge block at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Wednesday.
With the Tigers down by a single point in the final seconds, LSU guard Jordan Wright drove to the rim to try and get in a game-winning shot. As he got to the rim, though, Thiero rose up and blocked the shot — which sent the ball right back into Wright’s arms as he started to fall out of bounds. Just before he did, though, he threw the ball back up to Ward in the middle of the lane.
Ward expertly caught the ball mid-air and tipped it in right as the final buzzer sounded, which gave LSU the one-point win.
That bucket came after Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham hit a tough contested jumper from the short corner on the other end, which put the Wildcats in the lead. Kentucky flew ahead at halftime and used a 16-0 lead that extended through the break to suddenly take a 15-point lead. That, though, didn’t hold. LSU slowly chipped away at that advantage and crawled back into the game, which set up the final sequence and their remarkable win.
Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 25 points after he shot 8-of-15 from the field. Dillingham was the only other Wildcats player to hit double figures. He added 23 points off the bench. Kentucky, now 18-8 on the season, has lost two of its last four games. The Wildcats will host No. 13 Alabama — which survived an overtime battle with Florida earlier on Wednesday night — next on Saturday in a game that would be huge for their placement in the SEC tournament. The Wildcats now sit in sixth in the SEC standings, but are just three games back from the first-place Crimson Tide.
Ward led LSU with 17 points after he shot 5-of-10 from the field. Jalen Reed and Jordan Wright finished with 13 points each, and the Tigers out-rebounded Kentucky 37-30. LSU, which now holds a 14-12 record, has won two straight games over ranked opponents. The Tigers knocked off then-No. 11 South Carolina last week, which snapped a three-game losing skid. They’ll host Mississippi State next on Saturday.