Kentucky held off a late charge from Mississippi State in the second half to escape with a 71-68 road win, snapping a two-game losing streak on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats improved to 17-9 overall and 8-5 in league play, keeping alive their chances to reach the NCAA tournament. Kentucky is 15-0 this season when leading at the break.
Trailing 41-38 with 16 minutes, 30 seconds to play, UK went on an 18-2 run to take a 56-43 lead. A 9-0 Bulldogs run made it 56-52.
Clutch free throws in the closing seconds sealed the win.
Kentucky landed four players in double figure scoring as Jacob Toppin finished with 16 points. Oscar Tshiebwe led the way with 18 and 11 rebounds. Antonio Reeves tossed in 14 and Chris Livingston net 13.
The Wildcats are back at Rupp arena on Saturday afternoon, hosting No. 10 Tennessee. Game time is 1 pm.
At Oxford, Miss.
SCORE BY HALVES:
UK (17-9)….36 35 – 71
MS (17-9)….35 33 – 68
Scoring:
Kentucky (71) – Jacob Toppin 6(1) 1-2 16; Chris Livingston 2(1) 6-6 13; Oscar Tshiebwe 7 4-6 18; Antonio Reeves 1(4) 0-1 14; Cason Wallace 1 2-2 4; Adou Thiero 1 2-2 4; and Daimion Collins 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19(6) 15-20 71.
Mississippi State (68) – D.J. Jeffries 0(1) 0-1 3; Tolu Smith 8 6-7 22; Cameron Matthews 3(1) 2-2 11; Shakeel Moore 5(1) 1-2 14; Dashawn Davis 2(2) 3-5 13; and Eric Reed Jr. 0(1) 2-2 5. Totals: 18(6) 14-19 68.
Next up: Kentucky (17-9) vs. Tennessee (20-6), 1 pm, Feb. 18.