LEXINGTON — Reed Sheppard never left the floor with Kentucky down two starters in its 94-91 overtime loss to Florida. Not for a second in regulation. Not for a second in overtime. He’s that indispensable for the Wildcats.

Sheppard scored a game-high 24 points with eight rebounds and six assists Wednesday night. He's been just short of heroic this season for UK, seemingly getting everything right. So it seemed a little shocking to watch him finally look like a mere mortal.

Maybe it was fatigue from playing 45 minutes, maybe it was his freshman inexperience showing, but Sheppard played a little too casual defensively the entire game when he was matched up with Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr.

He ran under a first-half screen, allowing Clayton to drill a 3-pointer. He was too slow closing out in the second half as he allowed Clayton to knock down his fourth of seven 3s in the game. Then with UK holding an 84-81 lead with 11 seconds left, Sheppard went flying by a pump fake by Clayton and gave up the game-tying 3.

"There were some breakdowns, like, 'Why did you do that?' breakdowns," UK coach John Calipari said. "I'm owning it to, they were exhausted."

In overtime, after Clayton gave up the ball and retreated to the corner, Sheppard let up just long enough that Clayton got the ball back and nailed an uncontested 3-pointer as he struggled to recover. The Gators never trailed again after that shot.

Clayton’s only field goals were 3-pointers, and he finished with a team-high 23 points.

"They're a little young," boasted Clayton, who added that the Cats were prone to going for shot fakes.

Sheppard largely had been able to hide his youth from mere mortals from plays like one sequence with 2:10 left in regulation.

He turned the ball over with a bad pass then made up for his mistake with his hustle. Clayton was open and squaring up to launch a corner 3 with UK holding a 79-77 lead, but Sheppard got there in time to block just enough of his shot to keep it from reaching the rim.

Sheppard played the entire time because starting guard D.J. Wagner missed the game with an ankle injury that wasn’t announced until just before tipoff. Forward Justin Edwards missed Wednesday's game due to a leg injury after playing a season-low nine minutes against Arkansas.

Being down two starters forced Calipari into quite a different rotation than when the Cats pulled out an 87-85 victory against the Gators in their SEC opener Jan. 6.

It was just the second time Sheppard started a game this season. His first was when Wagner missed their loss to UNC Wilmington with an injury. The fact that UK lost both games doesn't entirely rest with Sheppard.

But Sheppard has had such a strong season offensively — he maintains the highest offensive efficiency rating on the team and is 24th nationally, according to KenPom.com — it's glossed over that Wagner makes the team better defensively.

"There's a few things down (at) the end of the game that hurt us a little, but we'll be all right," Sheppard said. "We'll learn from it and have a couple of days to get ready for a really good game on Saturday."

Calipari said he wasn't sure if the Cats would have Wagner and Edwards back for Saturday's showdown against No. 5 Tennessee.

Truthfully, Kentucky would be looking at consecutive losses had Sheppard not come through at Arkansas.

Against the Razorbacks, guard Rob Dillingham was a late scratch with a stomach illness. Sheppard scored 14 points with five assists while primarily running point for the Cats. He helped bring stability in a much-needed road win. 

Sheppard is the glue that keeps everything running smoothly offensively regardless of how the lineups change. He has had a knack for delivering whatever is needed at the right time.

Even Sheppard has his limits. Wednesday's loss was a reminder that he's still learning, too.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: John Calipari counts on Reed Sheppard in lineup