Kentucky needs rally to survive scare
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 18 points, Anthony Davis added 13 points and 11 rebounds and No. 1 Kentucky rallied to beat Mississippi State 73-64 Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (27-1, 13-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed 41-28 at halftime - which was their biggest deficit of the season - but slowly climbed back to take their first lead at 63-62 with 4:11 remaining on a layup by Kidd-Gilchrist. They never trailed again, winning their 19th straight game.
Kidd-Gilchrist scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and also added 10 rebounds for the double-double. Kentucky finished the game on a 20-4 run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dee Bost led Mississippi State (19-9, 6-7) with 21 points while Arnett Moultrie added 13 points and 11 rebounds for his SEC-leading 16th double-double of the season. The Bulldogs have lost four straight games.
It was a tense game throughout with three technical fouls, including two for the Wildcats.
The tight game wasn't a surprise considering the recent competitive history. The programs have split the past six games in the series, with three going to overtime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mississippi State came into the game on a surprising three-game losing streak - falling to Georgia, Auburn and LSU - that has put its standing for an NCAA tournament at-large bid on shaky ground. And the Bulldogs played like a desperate team.
In front of a rowdy Humphrey Coliseum crowd, Mississippi State couldn't have asked for a much better start. Renardo Sidney nailed a 3-pointer and Bost found Moultrie for an alley-oop to take a quick 5-0 lead. The Bulldogs stretched that advantage to 25-13 on Bost's 3-pointer that danced around the rim before falling through the hoop.
While Mississippi State was cruising, Kentucky was uncharacteristically rattled.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Wildcats couldn't get the ball inside to their talented big men, instead settling for contested shots on the perimeter. Marquis Teague was called for a technical which Mississippi State turned into a five-point swing, with Bost making both free throws and then a 3-pointer for a 34-21 lead.
Jalen Steele put the exclamation point on a dominant first half, knocking down a 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a 41-28 halftime lead.
The only bad news for Mississippi State was the loss of Rodney Hood, who suffered a bruised knee late in the first half and didn't return. The Bulldogs already had a thin playing rotation before his injury and were down to a seven-man rotation without him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It appeared to be a factor as Kentucky slowly wore Mississippi State down.
The Wildcats responded with an 11-2 run to start the second half as the game turned tight, with Kentucky's Davis and Mississippi State's Moultrie both receiving technical fouls. The Wildcats pulled within 55-53 with 7:17 left on a layup by Terrance Jones, but Mississippi State responded with a dunk from Moultrie and a 3-pointer from Bost to push the lead back to 60-53.
That's when Kentucky started its game-winning rally, finally taking the lead on a bucket by Kidd-Gilchrist with 4:11 remaining, who grabbed his own missed shot and converted the layup for a 63-62 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Darius Miller added 12 points off the bench for the Wildcats. Doron Lamb and Jones both scored 11.