One of the worst seasons in Kentucky's rich basketball history came to a familiar and almost fitting end on Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

The Wildcats' Dontaie Allen missed a 3-pointer from the right wing as time expired and Mississippi State held on for a 74-73 win at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Kentucky had battled back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take a 71-66 lead with 4:30 remaining, but once again the Wildcats struggled to finish.

While UK scored only two points the rest of the way, Mississippi State's Iverson Molinar scored eight of his team-high 21 points in the clutch to lead the Bulldogs to victory.

"Kinda how the year went," lamented Kentucky coach John Calipari, whose team suffered its fourth one-point loss of the season, the most in program history. The Cats were 2-6 in games decided by one possession during a 9-16 season, the first losing campaign since 1988-89.

"All these kids have been through, and they never stopped, they gave us an effort every night in practice, every game," Calipari said. "We were lacking and flawed in different ways as a team, but they fought. I would say disappointed in the record but not disappointed in these kids."

Mississippi State (15-13), which entered today's game 0-15 against Calipari-coached UK teams, advances to play regular-season league champion Alabama on Friday in the quarterfinals.

Despite the dramatic finish, the game may have been lost by UK in the first half.

Mississippi State physically dominated the opening period, scoring 34 points in the paint and holding a 29-15 advantage on the glass to take a 44-30 lead into the locker room.

"The way we started the game was so disappointing," Calipari said. "Basically, we got punked. I mean, they're plus-15 rebounds. Are you kidding me? I've never seen that. Division I against Division III maybe, but I've never seen 15. Are you going to be down 30 rebounds? They're going to out-rebound you 15 to 20? I never heard of such a thing."

Kentucky surged back on the shooting of Allen, who scored 20 of his team-high 23 points in the second half. The redshirt freshman wing made 13 3-pointers in his two games against the Bulldogs this season.

"You knew they were going to make a run at us," Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said. "... My heart was down there in my stomach (on the final shot by Allen) because it was a good look. That guy, his coming out party was against us down in Starkville, where he had 23, and again today we had real difficulty. He must have something against Mississippi State I'm unaware of."

Although Allen shined and Davion Mintz delivered 16 points and eight assists for the Cats, it was a disappointing day for fellow UK guards BJ Boston and Devin Askew, who combined to score no points in 44 minutes of action.

It was the only scoreless game of the season for Boston, a freshman wing who entered today's game leading the Cats in scoring at 12.0 points per game.

Olivier Sarr and Keion Brooks Jr. added 14 and 10 points, respectively, for UK.

In addition to Molinar's big game, Mississippi State got 13 points from Tolu Smith and 12 points from Abdul Ado. The big men had 23 of those 25 points in the first half.

The Bulldogs finished with a 46-30 rebounding advantage, led by 11 from Smith and nine from Ado.

*****

RAPID RECAP:

Kentucky looked like a team that was largely disinterested in extending its season in the first half. The Cats fell behind 44-30 at the break as Mississippi State pounded the ball inside for one easy bucket after another and held an astonishing 29-15 rebounding advantage. True to its character, UK played with a lot of heart in the second half, battling back on the strength of Dontaie Allen's red-hot shooting to take a 71-66 lead at the 4:30 mark. But, once again, the Cats could not finish in the final four minutes of the game. They scored only two points the rest of the way as State put the final nails in the coffin for this disastrous Kentucky season.

GAME BALL:

Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State -- The Bulldog wing named after NBA legend Allen Iverson had all the answers in the clutch, scoring eight of his 21 points in the final 3:07, including a pair of 3-pointers that helped turn a five-point deficit into a one-point lead for MSU.

KEY STAT:

Mississippi State scored 34 points in the paint in the first half, making 17 of its 19 field goals around the rim to build a 44-30 lead at the break.

QUOTABLE:

"No. No. I'm sorry, I coach at Kentucky. No. No. I'm happy for them that they fought to get back in it. We had a chance to win... You have to make winning basketball plays." -- UK coach John Calipari when asked if he was happy with the comeback the Cats made.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky enters what might be the most important off-season in program history since Rick Pitino arrived in 1989 to lead the probation-ravaged Wildcats. Many roster issues need to be addressed. Who will return? Who will enter the NBA Draft? Who may be looking to transfer? Will there be additions to the 2021 recruiting class or incoming transfers? Could staff changes be coming? Or perhaps changes to the offensive philosophy? There will be a lot on John Calipari's mind these next few months.