Trailing by 10 points with just under 11 minutes left to play, LSU battled back on the road and pushed Kentucky to the final horn before losing 74-71 Tuesday night in Rupp Arena.

After being destroyed in rebounding most of the game, especially on the offensive boards, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run in a 4:11 span that cut Kentucky’s lead to 60-58 with 6:29 left to play.

From that point, it was a catfight down the stretch with LSU slicing UK’s lead twice to 1 point. The last time was at 72-71 with 9.3 seconds left when Tigers’ guard Cam Hayes hit 3 free throws.

LSU was forced to foul. UK’s Jacob Toppin, who scored a team-high 21 points, hit two free throws 3.3 seconds left for a 3-point lead.

The Tigers called timeout and designed a play for forward KJ Williams to take a 3-point shot. Williams, the game’s scoring leader with 23 points, left his final attempt short.

“I’m disappointed that we didn't get it done, we came up here to win,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “But as I told our players, man, they showed me a lot tonight. . .their character, their toughness and their unselfishness.

“We just didn't make enough plays there to get it done.”

LSU (12-2 overall, 1-1 SEC) had a seven-game win streak snapped. It was just the Tigers’ second loss in six games this season decided by 4 points or less.

Kentucky’s dominant rebounding – it had a 31-22 cushion including 10-5 on the offensive boards leading to a 12-6 edge in second-chance points – was just enough to give the Wildcats (10-4, 1-1 SEC) the win.

LSU almost overcame the sizeable rebounding deficit by hitting 11 of 25 3-pointers (44 percent) and committing just 9 turnovers.

“The game was a little different than I expected,” McMahon said. “I thought both teams played better offensively than I was anticipating going in.

“On the offensive end, we're 50% from the floor, 11 of 25 from 3, 15 assists, 9 turnovers. . .that's good enough to win. We just weren't able to get enough stops. They hit some tough shots and in the last eight minutes we got better on the glass to close that gap a little bit.”

LSU guard Adam Miller broke out of his shooting slump, scoring 15 points on 5-of-13 3’s. Guard Trey Hannibal scored 12 off the bench and Hayes added 11.

Toppin’s big night was welcomed by the Wildcats, who lean mostly on All-American center Oscar Tshiebwe and point guard Sahvir Wheeler.

Tshiebwe had 19 points and 16 rebounds and Wheeler added 11 points, 9 assists and 6 steals. Guard Cason Wallace, one of two true freshmen in UK’s starting lineup, had 14 points including a layup with 29 seconds left for a 4-point lead.

"That is a really good team," Calipari said of the Tigers.. "They have done a great job. Terrific defensive team."

LSU travels to Texas A&M for a 5 p.m. Saturday tipoff on the SEC Network. The Aggies, 8-5 overall, open their SEC schedule Wednesday night at Florida. The Gators play at LSU next Tuesday at 6 p.m.