(WKYT) – Kentucky advances to the second round of the SEC Tournament after a huge second half from Brandon Garrison sparked the charge to push Kentucky over LSU, 87-82, in the first game of the SEC Tournament.
Otega Oweh led the Kentucky with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Brandon Garrison followed with 17 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Denzel Aberdeen had 16 points.
The Wildcats started the SEC Tournament off fast hitting five of their first 10 shots but the Tigers kept pacing with them, trailing by one at the first TV timeout.
Kam Williams returned to the court at the 14:10 mark for the first time since he broke his foot and had surgery after the Jan. 21 game against Texas.
Otega Oweh ended the regular season on a heater and carried that momentum over to start the game, scoring nine of Kentucky’s first 20 points. Oweh and Andrija Jelavic combined for 16 of Kentucky’s first 20 points.
The Cats would go on a 7-0 run after Williams made his first shot, nailing a three, putting UK up 23-17.
The Wildcats would go on to take a nine point lead, its biggest lead of the half, after a quick 5-0 run from Denzel Aberdeen, giving the Cats a 37-28 lead.
LSU (15-17) would climb back in it and make it a three point game at the break with Kentucky taking a 46-43 lead into the locker room.
Kentucky (20-12) didn’t come out in the second half with the same offensive rhythm it did in the first half. LSU was able to knock down five of its first nine shots to take a one point lead with 15:12 left in the game.
Every time it felt like Kentucky was about to take over, LSU would respond to let the Cats know they weren’t shying away.
However, what nobody could have anticipated is how the Cats finally took over. Up one, Brandon Garrison hit a three on back to back possessions to give UK a seven point lead that stretched out to nine. During this stretch, LSU went cold, not making a free throw for over three minutes.
From there, the Cats would keep the Tigers at arms length away to finish the game and take the win.
Kentucky advances and will play (8) Missouri tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 on the SEC Network.