Koby Brea finished with 23 points and seven 3-pointers, both career highs, for the Kentucky Wildcats who opened Southeastern Conference play Saturday outlasting the visiting Florida Gators 106-100 in Lexington, Ky.
The No. 10 Wildcats (12-2, 1-0) scored their third win this season over a team ranked in the top 10, but the sixth-ranked Gators (13-1, 0-1) did not make it easy in the teams’ only regular-season tussle. Florida shot 55 percent from the field and outrebounded Kentucky 38-30.
But Florida had no answer for Brea, who entered Saturday leading the SEC shooting 49.4 percent from beyond the arc and went 7-for-9 from there Saturday. He was one of six to score in double figures for the Wildcats, who shot 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the 3-point line and 57.8 percent overall.
Lamont Butler added 19 points and a career-high eight assists, and Otega Oweh finished with 16 for the Wildcats.
Walter Clayton Jr. tied a career high with 33 points to lead the Gators, who also got 26 from Alijah Martin.
The Gators made 10 of their first 16 shots over the first nine minutes, jumping out to a 26-15 lead. Kentucky, though, answered with the next 16 points — 10 by Oweh and six by Brea — to take a five-point lead with 7:19 left in the first half.
A Richard layup tied the game for Florida at 40 with 2:22 left in the half, but the Wildcats closed out the half with a 12-2 run. Butler finished it with a steal near midcourt that he converted into a layup just before the buzzer.
Florida rallied once again in the second half, behind Martin, who scored 20 points after halftime. His 3-pointer cut the Kentucky advantage to 70-69 with just more than 12 minutes remaining in regulation. However, Kentucky reeled off a 10-0 run in response, with Oweh scoring the first six during the run.
The Gators used a 7-0 run in a 1:17 span to cut their deficit to 89-87 with 4:16 left, with Clayton scoring five of his 23 points during the run. Butler, though, followed with the next five points, and Florida never got back within four points the rest of the way.
It was the fourth time in program history Florida scored 100 points in a game and lost.
Amari Williams added 15 points for Kentucky, which also got 14 each from Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson.
Rueben Chinyelu went 4-for-4 from the floor for 10 points for the Gators.
–Field Level Media
