LSU comeback falls short of red-hot Kentucky, 79-76

Neither team could find much offensive success in a physical, stingy first half Tuesday.

But, after the midway mark, LSU (18-8, 9-4) couldn't find a way to keep pace with suddenly red-hot No. 10 Kentucky (21-5, 11-2).

The Wildcats made more than 70 percent of their second-half field goals, including all seven 3-point attempts, en route to the 79-76 victory.

"They didn't miss much, and we didn't make it tough on 'em," LSU senior guard Sklyar Mays said. "We just have to be better on the defensive end. That's the reason we've lost four of five. We've gotta figure it out."

Kentucky managed a 29-28 lead at the break on just 12-for-38 (31.6 percent) shooting and 2-for-10 (20 percent) from beyond the arc.

But coach John Calipari's group scorched its way to 17-for-23 (73.9) from the floor and 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) from deep the rest of the way.

"We're up one and we can not make an open shot," the Wildcats' coach said. "We miss 10 open — like wide-open, and you miss 'em. And we're up one. I'm whistling and skipping and dancing going to the locker room. We can't make a shot and we're still up one? So, in the second half, we made the shots, and that's why we got up 14 or 15."

The Tigers' own strides paled in comparison en route to a fourth loss in the past five games.

LSU made just 10 of 32 (31.3 percent) field goals and 3 of 10 (30 percent) of its 3-pointers in the first half.

The Tigers hit 16 of their 34 (47.1 percent) attempts after the break, including 4-for-10 (40 percent) from deep.

The home team managed to claw their way back to within four points in the final minute in front of a roaring Pete Maravich Assembly Center crowd.

But, just like Saturday at Alabama, the deficit proved too large to overcome.

"We just keep making the same mistakes," LSU coach Will Wade said. "The same guy keeps making the same mistake over and over and over again. The same thing happened at Alabama. The same thing happened in this game. It gets frustrating.

"Hopefully they'll be improved. If not, we'll be playing home games in the NIT."

Sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley led Kentucky throughout the evening with a game-high 21 points, along with six assists and three steals.

"I think I air-balled my first shot, so that kind of threw everybody off," Quickly said. "But this team's really tough. No matter what happens in the first half, I think we've be a really good second-half team all year. That's just a credit to everybody's toughness (and) all the drills we do in practice."

Five Wildcats finished in double figures with Tyrese Maxey's 14, Nick Richards' 13 and 11 each by Ashton Hagans and Nate Sestina.

Sestina and Richards grabbed eight and six rebounds, respectively.

And Richards blocked six shots.

"We have really good defenders that are guards," Sestina said. "So if you get by our guards, thinking you have an uncontested layup and you have a 7-foot center with a 40-inch vert(ical leap) coming at you, too ... it's really intimidating. It's intimidating in practice when you're trying to go up for a layup and he throws it off a wall."

Mays led five LSU players in double figures with 17 points.

Darius Days and Marlon Taylor scored 13 points each, with Charles Manning Jr. and Trendon Watford added 11 and 10, respectively.

Sophomore guard Javonte Smart finished with seven points, seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

Days' 11 rebounds led a 45-33 Tigers advantage on the boards and 26-12 edge in second-chance points.

"The guys did a great job on the offensive glass, but (Kentucky) got a lot of 3's off," Mays said. "Our 3-point defense hasn't been great. And if we're gonna be the team that we expect to be, we've got to cover both of those patches.

We've just got to come in with the right energy. And I'm just excited about Saturday and just ready to compete again with these guys. These guys are playing hard, and I'm proud of 'em. But at the end of the day, we've got to get results."