Kentucky avoids disaster with Alex Wilkins' 3 to beat Northern Arizona

Jon Hale, Lexington Herald-Leader on Nov 13, 2026

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — There was likely nothing Kentucky could do in a matchup with winless Northern Arizona to lessen the concerns raised in its blowout loss to Kansas earlier in the week.

But there was certainly a way for Mark Pope’s Wildcats to make things worse.

Alex Wilkins helped Kentucky avoid a disaster with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left, but boos were audible throughout much of the second half of a 78-77 win in Rupp Arena over winless Northern Arizona.

Kentucky led by as many as 13 points in the first half and by 10 points at halftime, but Northern Arizona 11 scored straight points early in the second half to take a 51-49 lead, leading to boos from the Rupp Arena crowd as Pope called a timeout with 15:02 left in an effort to stop the run.

Northern Arizona stretched its lead to five points with 7:13 remaining before Kentucky scored six straight to regain the lead.

Still, the Lumberjacks would not go away.

Chris Komin hit two free throws. UK’s Justin McBride then drilled a 3 at the top of the key, but Komin answered with a deep 3 of his own.

McBride gave Kentucky back the lead with a floater in the lane, but Ryan Abelman answered with another deep 3 over McBride’s outstretched arm for a 70-68 Northern Arizona lead with 2:54 remaining.

Milan Momcilovic, the nation’s best 3-point shooter last season at Iowa State, missed two open 3s in the final three minutes for Kentucky. Northern Arizona then gained some breathing room when Loucas Toukam dunked home a missed 3-pointer with 1:43 left to stretch the lead to five.

Trailing 74-70 with 51 seconds left, Kentucky quickly inbounded the ball. Wilkins heaved a three-quarters court pass to Momcilovic darting toward the basket. Momcilovic was able to get off a floater through contact then convert the three-point play at the free throw line. Just when it appeared Kentucky was going to get the ball back for a chance to take the lead, Cade Bennett hit a wide-open 3 to stretch the Northern Arizona lead back to four with 22 seconds left.

Kentucky did not record its first offensive rebound until 10:21 remained in the game. It totaled just nine rebounds in the first half.

Turning point

Northern Arizona had a chance to ice the game at the free throw line but missed the front end of a one-and-one twice in the final 12 seconds. Malachi Moreno lost the ball out of bounds while attempting to rebound the first miss, but UK got a second chance after Komin, who had scored 25 points with seven rebounds and six assists, missed with eight seconds left.

Ousmane N’Diaye grabbed the rebound for Kentucky to set up Wilkins’ game-winner with 2.1 seconds left.

Player of the game

Four Kentucky players finished the game in double figures, but no there were few standouts for most of the night. Wilkins’ game-winner was at least a memorable moment. He finished the game with a team-high 14 points to go with four assists.

Key stat

Entering the night, Northern Arizona was ranked 299th nationally by KenPom.com. The Lumberjacks had already lost at UNLV and New Mexico. On Tuesday, No. 12 Arizona beat Northern Arizona by 31 points (90-59). Kentucky has not lost at Rupp Arena to a low-major opponent since Dec. 2, 2023, against UNC Wilmington.