March 4, 2000
By STEVE BAILEY
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky wasn’t about to give up its stake in theSoutheastern Conference championship without a fight.
Tayshaun Prince scored 19 points and Jamaal Magloire and Keith Bogans added14 each Saturday as No. 22 Kentucky handed No. 8 Florida its worst loss of theseason, 85-70, and denied the Gators the conference title outright.
“I would call this a statement game,” said Magloire, who grabbed 13rebounds for his SEC-leading 14th double-double of the season in his final homegame. “It is letting the SEC and everyone else know we are serious. The roadto the SEC always has to stop here and now we are No. 1.”
Desmond Allison and Jules Camara added 12 points each for the Wildcats(22-8, 12-4), who finished the season a perfect 14-0 at Rupp Arena.
Mike Miller scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half to lead Florida(23-6, 12-4), which clinched at least a share of the SEC championship with avictory over South Carolina on Wednesday.
No. 11 Tennessee and No. 12 LSU (25-4, 12-4) also claimed shares of theregular-season title Saturday. The Vols (24-5, 12-4) beat Georgia 88-63 and theTigers (25-4, 12-4) beat Mississippi 64-60 to create the first four-way tiechampionship in league history.
Kentucky’s victory also avenged the Wildcats’ worst loss of the season, a90-73 pounding at Florida on Feb. 8, and denied the Gators the top seed in nextweek’s SEC Tournament
“I couldn’t be prouder of a group of young men than I am of these kids,”Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “We have achieved one of the goals we set atthe beginning of the year, and we couldn’t be more excited about where weare.”
Kentucky rode the emotion of Senior Day to quickly jump on top of theGators. The Wildcats, who have lost their final home game only one time in thepast 36 seasons, used an 18-2 run midway through the first half to take controlof the game.
Kentucky’s defense smothered Florida from the game’s opening moments andpressured the Gators into their worst shooting performance of the season.
Florida, who leads the SEC in scoring (85.7 points), shooting percentage(49.5) and 3-point shooting percentage (37.5), was limited to 35.8 percent fromthe field (24-of-67) and 21.1 percent (4-of-17) from 3-point range.
“I thought we had some very decent looks at the basket and took some goodshots,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “We just weren’t able to make thekey plays.
“We’re getting ready for the Southeastern Conference tournament and theNCAA. If this game proves to be something we learn and grow from, then it was atremendous experience that will help us in the postseason.”
Kenyan Weaks and Brent Wright added 12 points each for Florida, which lostfor only the second time in its last 11 games.
Camara missed the previous meeting with an injured foot. Kentucky shot only42 percent from the field in that game and got outrebounded 49-36.
This time around, the Wildcats made 52.9 percent of their shots, includingnine of 21 from 3-point range. Camara made five of seven shots, grabbed tworebounds and blocked four shots as Kentucky won the battle of the boards 37-36.
“He is a difference-maker,” Smith said. “At Florida, the only shotblocker we had was Jamaal Magloire, so we lost that big-time defensivepresence. Today, Jules shot the ball well and moved well without the ball.”
Kentucky led 43-24 at halftime and increased the margin to as many as 26early in the second half. Trailing 54-28, Miller hit his first two field goalsof the game during a 12-2 run to pull to 56-40 with 12:42 remaining.
Weaks’ three-point play cut the margin to 70-60 with 3:20 to play, butKentucky made eight of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
