A career day from sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III was not enough for LSU to complete its comeback against Kentucky, as it lost a 75-70 heartbreaker Saturday at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
O’Bryant paced the Tigers with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a gutsy 39-minute performance. O’Bryant’s 21 points tied a single-game career high and factored into his sixth double-double of the year.
“When [O’Bryant] is aggressive in the post like he was today, and demanding the ball and finishing at the rim, those are some big things for us,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones in a radio interview.
The Tigers (10-7, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) trailed by as many as 15 points before they began to slowly claw back into the contest. LSU was only down by two points with 1:04 left, but Kentucky (13-6, 4-2 SEC) secured a victory in the final minute.
“I think you have to give credit to Kentucky,” Jones said. “They were able to hang on [and] made some necessary plays there down the stretch to keep the lead. But I thought we put ourselves in a position to get the game in overtime, and unfortunately, shots just didn’t go down for us.”
After LSU sophomore guard Anthony Hickey nailed a 3-pointer to pull within two points of Kentucky, Wildcat senior guard Julius Mays hit one of two free throws to push the lead to three. The Tigers then added two more points with five seconds left on a put-back from O’Bryant after a missed 3-point attempt.
The Wildcats made two free throws on the following possession, and they elected to foul Hickey instead of allowing him to chuck up a 3-pointer. Hickey missed the front end of the 1-and-1, and two more Kentucky free throws set the difference at five points.
Kentucky shot just less than 52 percent from the floor, and four Wildcats turned in double-digit scoring efforts. Freshman forward Nerlens Noel demonstrated his power in the paint with 10 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
Hickey and junior guard Andre Stringer shot a combined 7-of-11 from 3-point range, scoring 15 and 13 points, respectively. Both guards acknowledged the loss as being tough to stomach, but they also emphasized the need to move forward.
“We just need to stay together,” Hickey said in a news release. “This is not the end, and it is still early in the season. We are going to fight until the end. It was a tough loss, but it can’t be a setback.”
LSU will return to the floor on Wednesday for a tilt with the No. 22 Missouri Tigers in the PMAC.
Kentucky's Alex Poythress (22) shoots under pressure from LSU's Johnny O'Bryant III, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Kentucky won 75-70. (AP Photo/James Crisp)
