Alex Wilkins made a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2.1 seconds left to lift No. 24 Kentucky past a pesky Northern Arizona squad 78-77 on Friday night in Lexington, Ky.
A 22-loss team a year ago that was predicted to finish last in the Big Sky Conference preseason coaches and media polls, the Lumberjacks (0-4) had the Wildcats (3-1) on the ropes for most of the night. Northern Arizona led 77-73 after a Cade Bennett 3-pointer with 22 seconds left.
However, after making their first 10 free throws, the Lumberjacks missed their final two in the last 11 seconds. The last, a miss by Chris Komin on the front-end of a one-and-one, allowed Wilkins to hit the game-winning shot.
A half-court heave at the buzzer from Ryan Abelman hit off the backboard, allowing the Rupp Arena crowd to exhale.
Wilkins was one of three Kentucky players to finish with 14 points, and he also played the final 4:55 with four fouls. Malachi Moreno and Milan Momcilovic also finished with 14 points, and Moreno added six rebounds and six assists.
Kentucky shot 56.4% (31-for-55) from the floor and made 11 of 26 of its 3-pointers, but Northern Arizona stayed in the game on the glass. The Lumberjacks outrebounded their hosts 32-20 and limited the Wildcats to just one offensive rebound.
Komin finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Lumberjacks, who shot 51.9% (27-of-52) from the floor and made 13 of 26 from beyond the arc. Komin from 5-for-8 from the perimeter.
Lucas Toukam added 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
The Wildcats and Lumberjacks battled throughout most of the first half, but it appeared that the Wildcats were pulling away after an 11-3 run that gave Kentucky a 33-23 lead after Wilkins’ fast-break dunk with 4:02 left.
Kentucky’s lead grew to 39-26 with 2:40 before halftime after back-to-back treys by Momcilovic.
However, the Lumberjacks responded with a 16-3 run over a six-minute span in the second half. Komin capped that outburst with a jumper in the lane that gave the visitors a 56-52 advantage with 11:43 left.
