State drops another heartbreaker to Kentucky on Sheppard's game winner

Unfortunately, Tuesday’s ending of the Mississippi State-Kentucky game was all too familiar for Bulldog fans. Once again, the Bulldogs fought tooth and nail against the Wildcats only to suffer hearbreak in the final moments.

Reed Sheppard had a career-high 32 points, including the game-winning basket with .5 seconds left, to lead No. 16 Kentucky to a 91-89 victory on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard tied the game at 89-89 with 10 seconds remaining after hitting his seventh 3 pointer of the game. Hubbard finished with a career-high 34 points and also set a career high with seven 3 pointers made.

The Bulldogs (19-9 overall, 8-7 in the SEC) trailed 85-78 with 48 seconds remaining in the game before Hubbard drained a trio of 3 pointers down the stretch to tie the game. Cameron Matthews had a 3 point play that cut Kentucky’s lead to 87-84 with 28 seconds left. Then Tolu Smith had a steal and hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 87-86 with 20 seconds remaining.

Sheppard sank two free throws with 16 seconds to push the lead to 89-86 before Hubbard tied the game six seconds later, only to see Sheppard hit the final shot of the game.

“Pretty fast and furious and a heck of a play by Josh,” said Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans. “We thought we had the chance to go to overtime and then it’s a scramble situation. (Sheppard) rose up and unfortunately, had a real good angle and I was pretty darn sure it was going in. It was a heck of a play and he kept his cool for his team in the last minute of the game.”

Smith had a double-double for the Bulldogs with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double double of the season while Shakeel Moore added 10 points.

“Once we hit a couple of shots to open the 2nd half and got the lead to 13, they subbed pretty quick with those two freshmen (Sheppard and Rob Dillingham),” added Jans. “They are two of the most dynamic guards in the nation and they got their pace up. They played with more pace, offensively, and were more determined.

“They got good looks out front and on ball screens we were not as aggressive for whatever reason. But got to give them a lot of credit. They made a heck of a play and (Sheppard) is like another coach out there. We had the game where we wanted and they flipped the script on us.”

Last weekend Hubbard set a career high in State’s win over LSU with 32 points and six 3 pointers made before bettering those numbers on Tuesday. Hubbard was 11 of 24 from the field and 7 of 14 from 3 point territory while making 5 of 6 at the foul line.

“They sped the tempo up,” said Hubbard. “They made their run and were slowly coming back. We had to adjust quickly and we did better the second half. They just made some tough shots in the end.”

Antonio Reeves added 21 points for Kentucky (20-8, 10-5). Adou Theiro and D.J. Wagner also finished in double digits for Kentucky with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kentucky has now won the last 19 consecutive regular-season meetings with Mississippi State, including four overtime victories.

“He plays to win,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said of Sheppard. “He’s not playing not to lose. And we had to make some 3s to stay in the game. So we were running stuff to make some 3s in the first half to stay in the game. They went zone (in the second half) but we still ran stuff to get off some looks on 3s.”

For the game. Kentucky shot 55% from the floor and made 10 of 30 from 3 point territory. The Wildcats were 15 of 17 at the foul line and had 10 turnovers. Mississippi State shot 52% from the field and made 11 of 25 behind the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs made 12 of 17 at the charity stripe, had 15 turnovers and outrebounded Kentucky 34-27.

For Smith, it was is sixth double-double of the season and he was 9 of 13 from the floor while making 3 of 6 at the foul line.

“I think everybody has confidence in the team,” Smith said. “At the end of the game it was about staying together and that’s what we did. Although we didn’t come out with the outcome we wanted, we cut that lead down. It just goes to show what we are capable of.”

Mississippi State led the entire first half and the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 14-3 lead. Kentucky kept fighting back into the contest and cut the deficit to 32-30 following a D.J. Wagner layup with 4:28 remaining in the half. However, Mississippi State closed the half on an 11-5 run and led 43-35 at halftime.

Mississippi State shot 53% in the opening half and made 5 of 9 behind the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs made 6 of 10 at the foul line and had six turnovers. The Bulldogs outrebounded Kentucky 20-13 in the first half, including six offensive boards.

Kentucky shot 48% from the floor in the first half and made 7 of 18 from 3 point range. The Wildcats missed their only two free throw attempts of the half and had five turnovers.

Mississippi State doesn’t have time to be disappointed with another tough challenge ahead this weekend. The Bulldogs return to action Saturday at No. 11 Auburn with a 3 p.m. tipoff.

“On to the next one,” added Smith. “Obviously we have to go back to the drawing board and we’ve got things we need to work on. It is getting down to the wire so it’s on to the next one.”