Oscar Tshiebwe had 19 points and 16 rebounds and Kentucky held on for a 74-71 victory over visiting LSU in Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday in Lexington, Ky.
Jabob Toppin had 21 points and Cason Wallace added 14 points for the Wildcats (10-4, 1-1), who have won three of their past four games.
Tshiebwe shot 7 of 9 from the field and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line, while Toppin shot 9 of 13 from the floor and added three rebounds and three assists. Wallace had four assists and three rebounds, while Sahvir Wheeler finished with 11 points, a game-high nine assists and six rebounds.
The Wildcats, who led by 10 with 10:42 remaining, shot 28-of-54 (51.9 percent) from the field, including 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from 3-point range and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Kentucky outrebounded LSU 31-22 and ended the Tigers’ seven-game winning streak.
LSU (12-2, 1-1) was led by KJ Williams, who shot 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, to finish with a game-high 23 points.
Adam Miller scored 15 points by going 5-of-13 from deep, while Trae Hannibal added 12 points, four assists and three rebounds. Cam Hayes put up 11 points.
The Tigers shot 26-of-53 (49.1 percent) from the field, including an impressive 11-of-25 (44 percent) from beyond the arc.
After Toppin’s dunk gave Kentucky a 60-50 lead with 10:42 remaining, the Tigers went on a 11-4 run to pull to within 64-61 following Miller’s 3-pointer with 4:39 to go.
Wheeler hit a 3-pointer for a six-point advantage before Hayes’ 3-pointer made it 67-64 with 2:57 left. Hannibal’s layup made it a one-point game with 1:58 to go.
Toppin’s 3-pointer gave Kentucky a 70-66 edge with 1:24 left, but Hannibal’s layup with 57 seconds to go cut it to 70-68. Wallace’s layup made it a four-point game with 29 seconds left.
After Hannibal was called for charging on LSU’s ensuing possession, Wheeler missed the front-end of a one-and-one with 19 seconds left.
Hayes made all three free throws to make it 72-71 after being fouled while taking a shot from beyond the arc with 9.3 seconds to go.
Toppin’s two free throws with 3.4 seconds left provided the final margin after Williams missed a 2-point shot as time expired.
–Field Level Media