Brandon Garrison did it all Wednesday, including giving the officials his opinion on who should have the ball. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It was not desperation time, but it was close.
Kentucky was trending in the wrong way against LSU in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville.
LSU, the worst team in the SEC, cut Kentucky’s lead to 65-64 with about 11 minutes to play. It might not have been panic time, but it was close.
So what happened? Junior center Brandon Garrison, a 14 percent shooter from 3-point range with two 3-pointers in 498 minutes of play this season, hit a bomb to make it 68-64 with 10:41 to play.
It got better. About 45 seconds later LSU left him open again — and why not. Garrison took his time and again buried a 3-pointer for a 71-64 lead with 9:56 to play.
Obviously, nothing comes easily for this Kentucky team and LSU did make another run but Garrison’s 3-pointers propelled UK to an 87-82 win and spot in the second round today against Missouri at 12:30 p.m. ET.
“He’s been telling me all season, ‘Coach, I’m not going to make any shots till the postseason. I’m just going to save them.’ Apparently he knows more than I do,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope smiled and said. “It’s interesting because if you know him, BG sometimes can put on this little, maybe almost shy persona. He has zero part of him that’s shy on the court. He was great tonight, man. He really had a terrific game.”
Pope didn’t even mind when he missed a dunk.
“My favorite play of the game, he’s seven for nine from the field, was the dunk that he missed. He was so physical and determined to get to the rim. He went back and got his own miss off the dunk,” Pope said. “When BG is operating like that, when he’s that physical and intentional, he’s special. Take the 3’s, lose the 3’s. He was a huge factor for us in this game.”
No one agreed more than TV analyst Joe Crispin who insisted Kentucky was much better in this game with Garrison playing instead of Malachi Moreno, who had four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
“Garrison lifted the whole team with his communication on defense and Kentucky needed that,” Crispin said
Crispin almost pleaded with Pope to leave Garrison in the game.
“I would not make Garrison out the rest of the way. He is matching the energy and effort of LSU and that is more than what you see in the stats,” Crispin said. “He got the crowd involved in a good way (with his 3’s).
“Garison a difference makers. He brings life and enthusiasm and defense. He has made them mobile. He is the best communicator on the defensive end. He’s been big.”
LSU coach Matt McMahon thought Kentucky was “really good offensively” during the game. The Cats were 32 of 64 from the field and 17 of 23 at the foul line. Kentucky also had only five turnovers.
“We talked about that stretch where (Brandon) Garrison hit two big 3’s. They got out in transition some. We were trying to contain their transition game. They ranked top 10 in the country there in efficiency in the open floor,” the LSU coach said.
“I thought the offensive execution was pretty good on our part. Issue is when Kentucky is scoring it as well as they were, we go 0-for-9 from three in the second half. I thought we got some pretty good looks, unfortunately unable to knock those down.
“Great credit to Kentucky. A game they needed, and they found a way to make the plays to get it done there in the second half. I thought our players came to play. Competed at a high level. They were connected as one. Thought the spirit was where it needed to be. Kentucky was just the better team at the end of the day.”
