Kentucky put another big checkmark on its tournament resume Tuesday night at LSU, riding an incredible second-half shooting display to a 79-76 win over the Tigers.

The No. 10 Wildcats shot 74% (17 of 23) in the second half, including seven consecutive 3-pointers to open a 15-point lead late in the game.

LSU made a late charge to make it interesting in the final minute of play, but UK held on for another impressive road victory. The Cats improved to 6-3 in Quad 1 games this season, including road wins at Texas Tech, Arkansas, and LSU.

Kentucky (21-5, 11-2 SEC) also maintained a one-game lead over Auburn in the race for the league's regular-season championship while extending their lead over LSU to two games.

"It was a good win," UK head coach John Calipari said. "... In this building, against this team, this was a heckuva win for us."

The Tigers had lost only once in the Maravich Assembly Center this season.

Sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley led Kentucky with a game-high 21 points, six assists, and three steals. Four other Cats finished in double-figures, including Tyrese Maxey (14), Nick Richards (13), Ashton Hagans (11), and Nate Sestina (11).

"Nate was really big for us," Maxey said of his teammate's effort off the UK bench. "... We had a lot of guys do good things out there."

"You wanted him to break through," Calipari added. Sestina had not scored in double figures since recording 17 on Dec. 21 against Ohio State.

LSU (18-8, 9-4 SEC) lost for the fourth time in five games after winning its first eight in league play.

The Tigers, who were held to 39% shooting from the field, were led by Darius Mays with 17 points. They kept the game close by turning 23 offensive rebounds into 26 second-chance points.

*****

In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…

THE GOOD:

We're not sure what John Calipari is doing at halftime, but it's working. Kentucky had another fantastic second half, spreading the floor and knocking down one wide-open shot after another. When the Wildcats are hitting 3s, they are really dangerous. They were 9-for-18 tonight.

THE BAD:

It was another difficult first half, offensively, for UK. The Cats shot 32% and scored only 29 points in the first period. It marked the third straight game they have been sitting in the 20s at the break.

THE UGLY:

The Cats lost Ashton Hagans to a deep thigh bruise for the final seven minutes of action. Without their leader at the point, UK was outscored 22-10 over the final 4:26 as LSU trimmed a 15-point deficit to three.

GAME BALL:

Nate Sestina, Kentucky -- Once seemingly in danger of falling out of the Cats' main rotation, the grad transfer came up with one of his finest efforts of the season with 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. They all seemed to come at key times, reflected in his game-high +15 in the +/- column.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Three-pointer made by Kentucky's Nate Sestina in February. He went 3-for-4 from the arc, part of the Cats' 7-of-8 showing in the second half.

11 - Blocked shots by UK, including six by Nick Richards.

29-28 - The Cats' halftime lead. They scored 50 points in the second half for the second time in the last three games.

45-33 - LSU advantage in the rebound column.

73.9% - Kentucky's field-goal shooting in the second half, hitting 17 of 23 attempts.

90-27 - Cats' lead in the all-time series with the Tigers.

QUOTABLE:

"It's hard to play a basketball game -- it's really demoralizing -- when you run good stuff, and your guy misses and sometimes misses badly. What was the difference in the second half? We made shots." -- UK head coach John Calipari

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Saturday at Rupp Arena when Florida visits Lexington for a 6 p.m. ET matchup on ESPN. The Gators (17-9, 9-4 SEC) are coming off a 73-59 win over Arkansas on Tuesday night in Gainesville, Fla.