The Kentucky Wildcats needed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Alex Wilkins to escape Rupp Arena with a 78-77 win over Northern Arizona on Friday night, narrowly avoiding what would have been a historic upset.
Northern Arizona, which entered the game winless and was a 30.5-point underdog, led 77-73 with just 22 seconds remaining. Kentucky cut the deficit to two on a basket from Mason Williams, then had to foul intentionally to stop the clock.
Max Majerle, son of former Phoenix Suns All-Star Dan Majerle, missed the front end of a one-and-one for Northern Arizona, but a Kentucky player knocked the ball out of bounds while fighting for the rebound, giving the Lumberjacks another chance.
Kentucky fouled again, sending Chris Komin, an 82% free-throw shooter last season, to the line. Komin also missed the front end of his one-and-one. The Wildcats grabbed the rebound with 7 seconds left, and Williams pushed the ball ahead to Wilkins, who sank the game-winning three as time expired.
The win was a nervy one for a Kentucky roster that CBS Sports places in its $20 million-plus spending tier for college basketball programs. Northern Arizona, by contrast, had lost its first three games of the season by an average of 24 points.
Kentucky shot 56.4% from the field and committed just four turnovers in the game, numbers that made the late-game struggles all the more surprising. Northern Arizona, which had averaged only 62 points in losses to New Mexico and No. 12 Arizona earlier this season, shot 13-for-26 from three-point range against Kentucky.
The close call follows a similar warning sign from Kentucky’s recent game against Kansas, when the Wildcats gave up 89 points in a 20-point loss after previously allowing 80 points to James Madison.
Kentucky returns to Rupp Arena on Monday to face Grambling State before a matchup against Indiana on Friday.
