Kentucky’s Mark Pope jokes that Brandon Garrison’s late breakout was the plan all along Kentucky found an unexpected spark in Brandon Garrison during their SEC Tournament opener against LSU, securing an 87-82 victory at Bridgestone Arena. The ninth-seeded Wildcats, facing a 16th-seeded Tigers team, turned the tide with a decisive 8-0 run in the final nine minutes of the second half. Highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Garrison, the surge provided the necessary momentum to hold off LSU in the closing moments. The win echoed their earlier nail-biting victory over LSU in January, reinforcing the intensity of the matchup. Garrison’s performance was nothing short of impressive, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, alongside five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks. His all-around contributions off the bench marked a significant shift from his regular-season output, where he had only made two three-pointers and averaged 4.8 points and 4.0 rebounds. This breakout game, his second-highest scoring effort of the season, came after a quiet regular season that saw him struggle to find his rhythm. Kentucky coach Mark Pope, however, was unsurprised by Garrison’s surge. In a lighthearted moment, Pope joked that Garrison had been hinting all season that he would hold back his shooting until the postseason. “He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m not going to make any shots until the postseason, and then I’m just going to save them,’ so he apparently knows more than I do,” Pope said, adding a touch of humor to the situation. The win solidified Kentucky’s position in the tournament, with the team now set to face Missouri in the second round on Thursday. Otega Oweh also played a crucial role, scoring a team-high 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds, including a key layup with less than two minutes remaining.#sec_tournament #lsu #kentucky #mark_pope #brandon_garrison
