Kentucky on Wednesday found an unlikely hero in Brandon Garrison as they survived a tough scare from LSU, 87-82, at Bridgestone Arena in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

The ninth-seeded Wildcats went on an 8-0 spurt with nine minutes left in the second half, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Garrison, to gain more momentum against the 16th-seeded Tigers.

It proved to be an adequate cushion, as Kentucky fended off LSU in the closing minutes to seal the victory. It felt like a replay of the Wildcats' nail-biting win over the Tigers in January.

Garrison finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks in an impressive all-around performance off the bench.

Many were surprised by Garrison's breakout game, but Kentucky coach Mark Pope was not one of them.

“He has been telling me all season. 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,” said Pope in jest.

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As they say, better late than never.

It was Garrison's second-highest scoring output since scoring 20 points in their rout of Oklahoma State in early February.

Before facing LSU, the junior forward had only drained two three-pointers all season. He only averaged 4.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in the regular season.

If he keeps it up in the coming days, he could be the Pope's secret weapon as they try to reclaim their lost glory.

Otega Oweh also starred for Kentucky against LSU, scoring a team-high 23 points, including a crucial layup with less than two minutes left, and grabbing eight rebounds.

They will face Missouri in the second round on Thursday.