Game recap: Kentucky Wildcats survive scare in Baton Rouge
By Drew Koch
The Kentucky Wildcats survived a scare from LSU. PJ Washington led the Cats with 18 points.
The Kentucky Wildcats outlasted the LSU Tigers on Wednesday night 74-71. PJ Washington scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. Both he and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped the Cats avoid the upset in Baton Rouge. Kevin Knox finished with 16 points.
First Half
Kevin Knox shined for the Kentucky Wildcats early in the game with 10 points and 8 rebounds in the first half. Knox was a perfect 4-of-4 from floor, including 2-of-2 from downtown. LSU was led in the first half by Duop Reath‘s 13 points.
Four of Kentucky’s five starters scored before the first TV timeout and the Cats led the Tigers 9-4 early. LSU closed the gap midway through the first half after Tremont Waters knocked down a three-pointer and the Wildcats led 14-12.
Kentucky grew their lead to 5 after back-to-back layups by Sacha Killeya-Jones and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A putback by LSU’s Reath tied the game at 18 with just under 9:00 left in the first half. Knox and Waters exchanged baskets on consecutive trips. The Tigers took a 2 point lead with just over 5 minutes remaining before halftime after an Aaron Epps jumper.
Kentucky went small late in the half with Knox, Gilgeous-Alexander, Wenyen Gabriel, PJ Washington and Quade Green on the court. Green knocked down two mid-range jumpers, but LSU extended their lead to 5 at the half. The Tigers lead was thanks in large part to the play of Waters. Waters had 10 points at the half, and the Tigers led the Wildcats 36-31 as the teams headed to the locker room.
Second Half
Hamidou Diallo scored 5 early in the second half and the Kentucky Wildcats went on a 9-0 run after a dunk by LSU’s Epps. The Wildcats began to attack the rim and Kentucky led 45-42 after the first five minutes of the second half.
Washington went full-on beast mode in the second half. The Kentucky freshman scored 6 points on 3 consecutive dunks. The Kentucky Wildcats were 8-of-10 during a stretch midway through the half. Kentucky led 60-56 with 7:41 left in the game.
Kentucky picked up the defensive intensity in the second half with blocked shots by Gilgeous-Alexander and Washington. The Cats maintained a lead deep into the second half until Reath knocked down a three-pointer to put the Tigers up 65-64 with less than 4 minutes to go.
Washington and Gilgeous-Alexander were essential down the stretch, both from the field and from the foul line. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 18 points and hit two crucial free throws late.