BATON ROUGE, La. _ No. 17 Kentucky erased a halftime deficit and surely any doubts about its ability to perform in a "true" road game Wednesday night.
UK needed possession-by-possession poise to beat LSU, 74-71.
It wasn't easy, which made it all the sweeter for a Kentucky team challenged earlier in the week by coach John Calipari to show its mettle. A surprising drop in The Associated Press poll after two victories last weekend prompted the challenge.
Kentucky, 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference, took the lead for good in a way that showed resolve. LSU tied it at 67 when Duop Reath faked out PJ Washington on an up-and-under move and dunked with 1:59 left.
Washington answered at the other end. His ball-fake got Reath out of position, leading to a layup while being fouled. UK sealed it with Wenyen Gabriel and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making three of four free throws in the final 39 seconds.
Reath, a native of South Sudan (Gabriel's home country), was a revelation. The senior's 24 points marked the second-highest scoring game of his career. He also grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds.
LSU's star freshman guard, Tremont Waters, also had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. But he missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Kevin Knox posted a double-double for Kentucky with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Washington and Gilgeous-Alexander led the Cats with 18 points each.
Kentucky couldn't blame its 36-31 halftime deficit on a repeat of the slow start against Georgia on Sunday.
"Georgia just came out playing harder than us," Green said on Tuesday. "We just had to step on the gas a little bit."
Kentucky floored it at LSU, making its first three shots and zipping to a 7-0 lead.
Although Kentucky made half its shots in the first half (14 of 28), the lead did not last. The familiar bugaboo of turnovers helped prevent a first-half knockout. The Cats committed 11 in the first half.
Although Waters had been lionized in pregame talk, Reath was the player LSU rode in the first half. The Tigers went to him in the post on their first two possessions and two more times before the first television timeout.
Reath, who came into the game averaging 7.8 shots, took 11 in the first half and led LSU with 13 points.
His putback tied it at 18 with 8:59 left. That marked the first time Kentucky did not lead after scoring the game's first seven points.
Waters, who had 10 points in the first half, gave LSU its first lead (20-18) on a drive.
Kentucky, which never seemed to get into an offensive rhythm, scored only one basket in the final 2:39 of the half.
A 3-pointer by Aaron Epps with 48.2 seconds left set the halftime score. It capped a 5-for-11 shooting half for LSU from 3-point distance. UK's last two opponents (Louisville and Georgia) made only five 3-point shots in 46 attempts.
Kentucky started the second half poorly. Again LSU went to Reath, who scored the half's first basket.
When Nick Richards fouled going over the back on UK's first possession, he was replaced by Sacha Killeya-Jones.
Kentucky rallied with its proven formula of drive-drive-drive. Unlike the first half, the drives netted baskets and free throws.
Killeya-Jones shot UK's first free throws of the game with 17:16 left. He missed both, but perhaps set a tone.
Gilgeous-Alexander's driving layup put Kentucky ahead 43-42 with 15:11 left. That marked the first UK lead since the 6:10 mark of the first half.
Kentucky extended its lead to 60-54 on a sequence that showed renewed effort. Knox scored on a fourth-chance opportunity.
But neither team seemed destined to pull away.
Kentucky scored only twice over the next five-plus minutes. LSU chipped away. Then Reath _ who else? _ hit a 3-pointer to put Kentucky behind 65-64. It was Reath's second 3-pointer, which tied a career high.
UK called time with 3:22 left to ponder a possession-by-possession finish.
