FINAL: Malachi Moreno hits game-winning jumper to complete Kentucky's comeback win over LSU

Malachi Moreno saved the Wildcats from a potentially devastating loss.

On Wednesday night in Baton Rouge, Kentucky (11-6; 2-2 SEC) successfully completed an 18-point comeback to beat the LSU Tigers (12-5; 0-4 SEC) by a final score of 75-74 thanks to Moreno’s game-winning jumper at the buzzer. Down one point with 1.6 seconds left on the game clock, Collin Chandler threw a beautiful full-court pass that fell right to Moreno, who turned around and nailed a jumper just inside the three-point arc.

Kentucky appeared to be dead in the water after a horrendous opening half of basketball, but the offense woke up in the second half and continued to threaten LSU’s lead. The ‘Cats shot 65.4 percent from the floor after halftime (including an 8-11 clip from deep). Moreno finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, playing most of the second half with four fouls. Otega Oweh led all scorers with 21 points while Denzel Aberdeen chipped in 17 of his own, all coming in the second half. Andrija Jelavić added 11 points and five rebounds in his first start as a ‘Cat.

It felt like nothing was going right for Mark Pope‘s crew, but the resolve they showed down the stretch was impressive.

MALACHI MORENO FOR THE WIN 😼😼😼😼😼😼😼 pic.twitter.com/6fXGVwMNBA

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 15, 2026

Of all the poor starts we’ve seen from Kentucky this season, this was among the worst. Capped by an early 10-0 LSU run that forced Pope to call a timeout, it was a 16-3 Tiger lead through the first eight minutes of the game. There was a stretch where UK went nearly seven full minutes without a single point. By the time the ‘Cats could reach 11 points, LSU’s Marquel Sutton was up to 11 points by himself.

Offensively and defensively, Kentucky was being thoroughly outplayed and outhustled. A Chandler dunk cut LSU’s advantage down to just 10 at one point, 30-20, but the Tigers responded by closing the half on an 8-2 run to take a 38-22 lead into the break. 22 points marked the fewest by UK against LSU in one half since 2000. The ‘Cats shot just 8-30 (2-12 from deep) in the first half with only two assists to five turnovers.

The second half saw Kentucky come out of the gates with much more aggression on offense. Nine straight points for the ‘Cats made it a seven-point game just like that. The threes were falling often, with UK starting the half 6-8 from deep. The LSU lead was even cut down to five a couple of times after a pair of made triples, but Kentucky’s defense continued to bleed points on the other end whenever the offense started to heat up.

Moreno helped make it just a four-point game, 65-61, after converting an and-one finish with five minutes still to go. Oweh came up clutch soon after with a corner three-pointer that cut LSU’s lead to just one, forcing the Tigers to call a timeout. LSU would match that shot the next time down before Oweh responded with another deep ball. Kam Williams then stole a pass and finished a transition dunk to give UK its first lead of the entire night, 69-68.

Soon after LSU converted a layup to retake the lead, Pope called a timeout with Kentucky trailing 70-69 and 2:39 left in regulation. A Moreno dunk out of the break would put UK back in front. Following a few trips to the free throw line for both teams, the score was tied 72-72. Oweh appeared to hit a go-ahead jumper with 41 seconds left, but the ball was barely in his hands when the shot clock buzzer went off. LSU would get fouled on the other end and hit both.

But Kentucky would have another chance to send this game to leave with a win. Pope called a timeout with the ‘Cats down two and 12 seconds on the game clock. Oweh was fouled driving to the lane, hitting the first freebie before missing the second. LSU had a chance to extend the lead to three, but missed both free throws on the other end, setting up Moreno’s game-winner at the buzzer.

What a comeback from the ‘Cats. Holy moly.

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