LSU’s season came to an end on Wednesday afternoon in Nashville.
Despite hanging tough for more than half of play, LSU was unable to pull off the upset in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament inside Bridgestone Arena. The Wildcats pulled away in the final 10 minutes for an 87-82 victory over the Tigers.
With the loss, coach Matt McMahon’s team finished the season 15-17 overall and 3-16 against SEC competition.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU took an early lead with back-to-back buckets by Michael Nwoko, but Kentucky’s Otego Oweh made a layup that sparked a 6-0 run. LSU’s Max Mackinnon retook the lead for the Tigers with a three-pointer, but the Wildcats answered with a three-pointer by Andrija Jelavic.
LSU’s Marquel Sutton drained a three-pointer to give the Tigers the lead again, but Kentucky responded as Collin Chandler made his jump shot to give the Wildcats an 11-10 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half.
LSU continued to hang tough with Kentucky as Rashad King’s three-pointer gave them a 17-16 lead with 12:33 left in the first. Kentucky answered with an Oweh jumper and proceeded to push its lead up to six points twice in the next few minutes.
After LSU cut the lead down to one, Kentucky managed to push the lead back up to nine points quickly. The Tigers answered with a tip-in by Nwoko and a layup by Mackinnon. A few moments later, LSU’s PJ Carter hit a three-pointer to make it only a two-point deficit with 3:31 left in the half.
Kentucky would push its lead back up to six points but LSU got the final shot of the half and made it count. Mackinnon hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. At the break, the Tigers trailed the Wildcats 46-43.
LSU came out strong in the second half as Mackinnon hit a jumper and then moments later tied the game with a Pablo Tamba dunk. Kentucky retook the lead, but LSU took the lead after a King second-chance layup with 15:31 left in the second half.
The two teams traded leads a few times, but Kentucky seized control with a little less than 11 minutes to play. Brandon Garrison hit a pair of three-pointers, and Denzel Aberdeen made a jumper. In a minute and a half, the Wildcats had pushed their lead to nine points.
A fast break layup by Oweh would then push it 10 points with 8:10 left in the game. Kentucky maintained its lead, but LSU made things interesting. Nwoko and Sutton made back-to-back buckets that cut the lead down to seven points with 4:04 left in the game.
LSU cut the lead down to five points three times in the final few minutes, including Jalen Reece’s layup, making it a five-point deficit with 49 seconds remaining on the clock. Kentucky answered with Aberdeen draining a pair of free throws and held on for the victory.
BIG NUMBER: 29
A big difference in Wednesday’s game was the difference in bench points between the Tigers and Wildcats. LSU managed to produce 10 bench points, while Kentucky managed to generate 29.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: MAX MACKINNON & MICHAEL NWOKO
Mackinnon paced the Tigers with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting while also pulling down four rebounds. Nwoko had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.