All Reed Sheppard ever wanted to do is play for Kentucky. While imagining that script for himself, he also conjured up a scenario every child with a basketball dreams of: hitting a game-winning shot for his beloved Wildcats.
“Then if you miss it and you get the rebound,” Sheppard said, “they added time on the clock.”
Neither happened Tuesday night in Starkville, Mississippi.
Sheppard’s aim was true. And time didn’t have to go back on the clock.
Given his performance, time might as well have stood still for Sheppard — and for a UK fan base that treasures the home-state star.
Sheppard, the freshman phenom and son of a pair of former Kentucky standouts, hit a running floater with 0.5 ticks left that proved to be the go-ahead bucket in a 91-89 win over Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum.
It was the perfect capper to a career-best effort for the London native. Sheppard led the team in points (32), rebounds (five) and assists (seven) as the No. 15 Wildcats rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit.
“Being out there and being able to hit the game-winning shot for Kentucky was really cool,” said Sheppard, whose point total also doubled as a career high. “It was really special for me. And to be able to do it with this group of guys — we’re all really, really close on and off the court — is really special.”
And “special” is what Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 SEC) required to pull off a come-from-behind victory.
The Wildcats trailed by eight, 43-35, at the break. The Bulldogs (19-9, 8-7) then scored nine of the first 13 points in the second half to extend their lead to 52-39 with 18:10 remaining. That spurt compelled UK coach John Calipari to call a timeout.
Out came Justin Edwards, Ugonna Onyenso and D.J. Wagner.
In went Sheppard, Rob Dillingham and Zvonimir Ivišić.
(I told them) ‘I believe in you, but I gotta win this game. I believe in you, but we’ve got to win. So if you’re not playing well, that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in you, but we’ll worry about that later,'” said Calipari, reflecting on what he told Edwards, Onyenso and Wagner. “And you just stick with guys as long as you can, which is what I do.”
Putting his faith in Sheppard, Dillingham and senior guard Antonio Reeves was a shrewd decision on Calipari’s part. That trio accounted for 46 of the team’s 56 points in the final 20 minutes, snapping MSU’s five-game win streak.
Reeves finished with 21 points. Dillingham’s nine all came after halftime — including a 4-for-4 showing at the free-throw line.
But both ceded center stage to Sheppard, who put the win on ice in the final two minutes with numerous crucial plays.
He sank a jumper to extend the lead to three (78-75). After an MSU turnover on the next possession, he went coast to coast, where he was fouled on a made layup and converted the ensuing free throw to extend the advantage to 81-75. Moments later, he registered a block, stuffing a 3-point attempt by Bulldogs guard Shakeel Moore. As the hosts continued to try to extend the game, Sheppard stepped to the free-throw line and made all four attempts.
Not that he was perfect: Sheppard forced a pass up the court that was picked off by Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith III, who immediately was fouled and made a pair of free throws to cut UK’s lead to 87-85 with 20 seconds to play.
“I was about to choke (Sheppard) when he threw the ball deep and they get to the foul line,” Calipari said. “And I’m looking (at him) like, ‘Why would you do that? You’ve got two foul shooters, either one will make free throws, and you throw one deep. He was trying to do the high school, ‘I’m going to dribble it and dribble it and dribble it,’ and all of a sudden he’s like, ‘Oh, no.'”
All was soon to be forgiven, as Sheppard authored the signature moment of his young college career.
“We threw it in real quick, had about eight seconds,” said Sheppard, describing how Kentucky’s final possession unfolded. “D.J. was coming down — I trust D.J. and what he’s gonna do — (and) he tried to penetrate. Then (he) pitched it back to me, and I was able to get in the lane.”
The play developed organically: After MSU guard Josh Hubbard nailed a 3-pointer (part of his game-high 34 points) to level the game at 89, Calipari elected to put the onus on his players, refusing to call a timeout.
“The ball ends up in Reed’s hand,” Calipari said, “and he goes and makes it and we win the game.”
While Sheppard came through in the clutch and made the shot, he dished the credit to his teammates as deftly as he finds them in the right spot on the floor.
“They’re telling me in the huddle, ‘Just keep playing. Keep attacking. Lead us,'” said Sheppard, who was 11 for 14 from the field (8 of 10 in the second half) and connected on eight of his final nine attempts. “That’s huge. They just kept putting confidence in me the whole game.”
At this point, nothing Sheppard does surprises those around him.
“He’s Steady Eddie,” Calipari said. “Sometimes his reactions to stuff, he’s trying to steal every ball, trying to do crazy (things). … (But) to make that (game-winning) play and not be fazed by it? His focus was on making the basket. It’s incredible.”
The timing of his late-game heroics wasn’t lost on Sheppard.
It came less than a week after Kentucky lost, on the road, on a buzzer-beater to LSU, whose fans stormed the court. Days later, Wake Forest upended Duke. In the postgame celebration, Blue Devils superstar Kyle Filipowski suffered a minor injury as he tried to make his way through the sea of delirious Demon Deacons fans. That incident set off days of debates about whether court storming should be banned outright — once and for all.
Kentucky nearly was the latest victim of another court storming. Mississippi State was prepared. Up 71-67 with 4:51 remaining, a graphic flashed across its video board, pleading with fans to “stay off the playing area” at the game’s conclusion.
They did.
Because a Sheppard led the way.
“Being able to take away their fans from doing that and watch them leave when the buzzer goes off all mad and disappointed,” Sheppard said, “and the Kentucky fans staying and cheering us on is really cool.”
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
First appeared on www.courier-journal.com