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Sunday:

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ATLANTA (AP) — Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels put Kentucky back in a familiar place.

Fitch came off the bench to score 24 points and Daniels added 21 and the eighth-ranked Wildcats beat South Carolina 78-63 Saturday for a chance to win their 25th Southeastern Conference tournament title.

The Wildcats (25-4) earned their season-high eighth straight victory and will face Florida in the final Sunday. Kentucky could earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with a win in the championship game.

Josh Gonner led South Carolina (23-10) with 17 points. Carlos Powell added 12 for the Gamecocks, who had won two straight in the tournament after ending the regular season with four losses in seven games.

Fitch, a starter until his sprained finger put Antwain Barbour in the lineup for a three-point win at Florida on Feb. 3, returned to the bench after starting the last two games.

The senior guard played only five minutes of the first half as Kentucky built a 40-34 halftime lead.

Fitch and Daniels took over the game after South Carolina’s Mike Boynton’s 3-pointer cut the Wildcats’ advantage to 61-54 with 7:08 remaining.

Powell’s lay-in made it 63-56 at the 6:13 mark, and Fitch hit a straightway 3 with 3:21 remaining that put the game out of reach.

Daniels had a game-high six rebounds for Kentucky, which improved to 17-0 in SEC tournament semifinals.

Fitch, playing 14 minutes of the second half, scored 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting after intermission.

Cliff Hawkins had five assists for the Wildcats, including a feed to Daniels that the senior forward converted into a left-handed leaner to make it 55-41 with 11:55 remaining.

Kentucky forced the first eight turnovers of the game, taking a 33-24 lead as Daniels hit a left-handed turnaround jumper in the lane.

Under coach Tubby Smith, the Wildcats are now 13-2 in the SEC tournament. Kentucky improved to 14-4 in SEC tournament games in Atlanta, including a 14-2 mark at the Georgia Dome.