BATON ROUGE, La. — With Kentucky basketball’s fast break in full flight less than a minute into Wednesday’s second half, LSU forward Tyrell Ward committed a costly mistake.

He lost track of Antonio Reeves.

UK’s senior star shook loose from Ward and dashed toward the corner. Adou Thiero turned and tossed the ball to his open teammate.

Reeves did the rest, calmly sinking the 3 in front of the Wildcats’ bench — celebrating as he skipped up the court to extend the visitors’ lead to 42-27 and forcing LSU coach Matt McMahon to call a timeout. It didn't last: The Tigers stormed back to upend the No. 17 Wildcats and win, 75-74, on a last-second putback by Ward.

But it was no fault of Reeves, who led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, which included a 3-for-5 mark on 3-pointers. He also converted all six free throws he attempted.

Reeves knocking down shots with regularity, and ruthless efficiency, is nothing new.

His effort Wednesday, however, was one for the record books.

It marked the 24th time in his two-season UK career he’d tallied 20 (or more) points, setting a record during John Calipari’s 15-year tenure guiding the Wildcats. (Reeves' former teammate, Oscar Tshiebwe, had 23 20-point efforts in his own two-season stint at Kentucky, which wrapped up last year.)

Reeves’ point total Wednesday also helped him become the 62nd player in the Wildcats’ illustrious history to join the 1,000-point club. (He already had been honored earlier this season for reaching 2,000 points as a collegian after scoring 1,195 in three seasons at Illinois State.)

His performance against the Tigers was the latest excellent entry in what's shaping up to surely be an All-SEC — if not All-American — campaign for the 6-foot-6, 195-pound Reeves.

His list of accomplishments could fill a binder. But he's far from done. With five more regular-season games remaining, plus the SEC and NCAA tournaments, Reeves could continue climbing up various lists:

• With 1,001 points after Wednesday, he's only 213 from surpassing Bill Spivey for most by a Wildcat who only played two seasons.

• He's 117 points behind Tshiebwe's mark for most by a Calipari-era Wildcat.

• With 148 3-point makes at UK, Reeves has the third most by a transfer. Twenty-eight more 3-point conversions would move him into Kentucky's all-time top 10.

• If he scores 78 more points in 2023-24, he'll set a single-season program mark for a transfer player.

How much higher could he rise on the Wildcats' all-time scoring list?

If he maintains his points-per-game pace (19.5) for the next seven games (five regular season, one SEC and one NCAA Tournament), that would give him 1,138 points, good for 47th place (just ahead of Randolph Morris and Tshiebwe, just behind Vernon Hatton and Wallace Jones). A longer stay for Kentucky in the conference or NCAA tournaments would give Reeves even more opportunities.

While Reeves and the Wildcats continue to try to enhance their NCAA Tournament résumé, it would be difficult to script a better individual season for Reeves in his fifth and final go-round in the college ranks. After last season ended, uncertainty enveloped his future, with the possibility he might remain in the NBA draft — or might even return to college but transfer a second time, being a different type of Kentucky one-and-done player.

But he came back to UK, joining transfer forward Tre Mitchell to form a dynamic senior duo.

He took it upon himself to become a better rebounder (he's averaging a personal-best 4.3 per game this season). He's earned Calipari's praise, time and again, as being the team's best perimeter defender. Those improvements paired with an already well-developed scoring prowess.

Even there, Calipari believes Reeves is better than when he arrived.

"He’s a three-level scorer," Calipari said after Reeves scored 22 in last week's 70-59 win at Auburn. "He’s got the layup, he’s got that floater midgame and he’s got the 3."

All the tools needed to keep his career going long after he leaves Lexington.

"He's made himself a pro is what he's (done)," Calipari said.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Antonio Reeves joins Wildcats' 1,000-point club