No. 10 Cats Outlast No. 6 Gators on Saturday
No. 10 Kentucky placed six players in double figures as the Cats beat No. 6 Florida 106-100 on Saturday at Rupp Arena.
Koby Brea led Kentucky with 23 points, making 7 of 9 from behind the arc. Lamont Butler had 19 points and eight assists, while Otega Oweh had 16 points. Amari Williams had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson each had 14.
Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) made 37-64 (57.8 percent) from the floor, including 14 of 29 (48.3 percent) from behind the arc. The Cats had 44 points in the paint, compared to 38 for Florida.
Florida (13-1, 0-1) scored the first five points of the game before Amari Williams rebounded a miss and put it back, then hit a subsequent free throw, to make it 5-3. The Gators scored the next five to lead by seven before a Jaxson Robinson layup got the Cats within five, 10-5.
A Carr three made it 10-8 before Florida ran off six in a row, taking a 16-8 lead in the process. A Koby Brea three stopped the run and cutting the Gators’ lead to 16-11. After Florida scored four in a row, Williams broke free underneath for a layup, then drove to the basket for a dunk, getting UK within five, 20-15.
Florida would make consecutive threes to stretch the lead to 26-15 before Brea struck from behind the arc, making it 26-18. Oweh then drove to the basket, converted and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to get UK within five, 26-21.
Oweh then made the play that sparked the Cats. On a missed shot, he came flying in an slammed home the putback dunk. Another Brea three tied the game at 26-26, followed by five straight points from Oweh, completing a 16-0 run and giving UK a 31-26 lead with 7:19 left in the first half.
Florida scored the next three points before UK got a Brandon Garrison layup and another Brea three to lead 36-29. After the Gators scored five straight, Brea scored on a drive to the basket, giving UK a 38-34 lead.
After a Florida free throw, Robinson scored on a layup to make it 40-35. The Gators would score five in a row to tie the game at 40-40 before UK responded. The Cats got a Robinson three, a Robinson two, a Lamont Butler layup and free throw, then a Butler jumper, completing a 10-0 run and giving the Cats a 50-40 lead. UK would lead 52-42 at the half. Brea led all scorers with 14 points in the first 20 minutes.
The Gators scored the first six points of the second half before Butler scored off a Williams pass to make it 54-48. A Williams free throw made it 55-48 before the Gators hit a pair of free throws, cutting the UK lead to 55-50.
Kentucky responded with a Robinson three to lead 58-50. The teams would exchange baskets, including another Williams layup, before Florida hit a three to make it 60-55. A Travis Perry three extended the UK lead to 63-55.
However, the Gators responded again. Florida scored six in a row to get within two, 63-61, before Williams got loose underneath again for a basket, making it 65-61. The Gators then got a three-point play to get within one, 65-64, before UK got a pair of Carr free throws to extend the lead to three.
After Florida again cut it to one. Williams scored underneath, was fouled and made the free throw to give the Cats a 70-66 advantage. Florida answered with a three to again get within a point, 70-69, with 12:08 to play.
Oweh hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to give the Cats a 74-69 lead. Those were the first points in a 10-0 run that extended the UK lead to 80-69.
Florida scored five in a row before Brea hit another three, his fifth of the game, to give UK an 83-74 lead. After Florida scored four in a row, Brea hit another three to make it 86-78. After a Gators’ basket, Brea hit his seventh three of the game, giving the Cats an 89-80 lead with 6:00 to play.
Florida would score the next seven points to cut the UK lead to 89-87, but Butler scored five in a row himself and the Cats led 94-87 with 3:25 to play. However, Florida scored the next three points and got within four, 94-90, before Carr scored underneath with 2:15 to play.
After a Florida free throw, Carr hit a three to make it 99-91 with 1:30 to play. After a Florida basket, Butler made one-of-two at the line to give UK a 100-93 lead. Florida scored with 38 seconds to play, getting within five, 100-95.
Carr hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 102-95
