Kentucky escaped Rupp Arena with a 78-77 win over Northern Arizona on Friday night, but it took a late burst from Alex Wilkins to keep the Wildcats from walking into a disastrous loss.
Coming off the embarrassing defeat to Kansas in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Kentucky needed something cleaner, something that could steady the mood before next Friday’s game against Indiana. Instead, the Wildcats got a grinder. Northern Arizona pushed them all night, and Kentucky spent much of the game trying to shake loose from a team that refused to go away.
The opening half looked like Kentucky might finally create some breathing room. Northern Arizona hung around early, but late in the half the Wildcats started forcing turnovers and cashing in on them.
That stretch helped Kentucky build a lead as large as 13, fueled by those miscues and a 62% shooting clip. Even then, the Lumberjacks answered with a few big shots in the final minute and trimmed it to an eight-point Kentucky lead at the break.
The second half turned even messier for the Wildcats. Northern Arizona put together an 11-0 run during a five-minute Kentucky scoring drought and grabbed a 51-49 lead with 13:35 to play.
From there, Kentucky never really separated. The Lumberjacks kept answering, and with 18 seconds left they had a four-point edge.
Kentucky cut it to two with 13.9 seconds remaining, then got a break when Northern Arizona missed a free throw. But the rebound slipped out of Malachi Moreno’s hands and back to the Lumberjacks with nine seconds left.
That set up another missed free throw, and this time Wilkins delivered. Just like he did against UCF, he came through with a corner three to put Kentucky ahead 78-77 with two seconds left, and that shot ended up being the difference.
ALEX WILKINS OMG😱Clutch three to give Kentucky the late lead against 30-point underdog NAU! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rncMluJxtH
Without that shot, Kentucky’s season would have taken a brutal turn. Instead, Wilkins erased what was about to become a crushing loss and left Mark Pope with a win, even if there wasn’t much else to feel good about.
The Wildcats didn’t exactly uncover many positives beyond the final score. Their defense was a major issue, especially in the paint, where they had no answer when Northern Arizona’s bigs were switched onto. The Lumberjacks also got timely guard shot-making down the stretch, which kept the pressure on Kentucky right to the horn.
Northern Arizona finished with 26 paint points, won the boards 32-20, collected 11 second-chance points, and scored eight points off turnovers. Kentucky kept handing them chances, and for most of the night it looked like the Wildcats might pay for it. In the end, Wilkins bailed them out.
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