By Kenneth Cross
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 6 Kentucky’s 87-85 win over Florida featured two of the hottest teams in college basketball as the Gators had posted six consecutive wins while Kentucky had won five in a row.
The Wildcats had a 7-0 sprint late in the game which allowed them to secure a hard-fought win. Florida was the more dominant in leading for around 29 of the 40 minutes, but a 1-for-11 three-point mark in the second half and missing 11 free throws cost the Gators in the clutch.
“We did a great job taking care of the ball and went into halftime with an eight-point lead and just didn’t come out the right way in the second half or we didn’t execute and gave them a little confidence,” said Florida head coach Todd Golden. “I think that was a little bit of an inflection point in the game.”
Florida used a 12-2 run over a three-minute stretch to build a 39-29 lead as Walter Clayton, Jr., nailed a pair of threes from the right side.
Clayton and Zyon Pullin led all scorers with 23 points each as both spread their scoring throughout the game to give the Gators more than a chance at an upset on the opening day of SEC play.
“Yeah, they’ve been really good for us all year, and when you have ball-handlers and playmakers like that, it gives you a lot of confidence, and obviously ZP started cramping down the stretch, but he kept fighting,” explained Golden.
Both players equated to 34 minutes each of playing time. Pullin’s three with 6:57 remaining gave the Gators a 68-63 lead before he was knocked to the floor. Kentucky’s Aaron Bradshaw made two free throws to cut it to 68-67 with 6:05 to play.
With the consistency of Clayton and Pullin and then Riley Kugel off the bench, the Gators’ perimeter was able to outplay Kentucky’s youthful guards despite a tough evening for Will Richard.
Kugel scored seven in a row midway through the first half as he hit a three off of the right baseline to give Florida a 19-12 lead with 11:36 remaining in the first half.
“I think our backcourt outplayed their young backcourt, bottom line,” noted Golden. “You know, (Antonio) Reeves had a heck of a game, I thought he got us a little bit, and, yeah, just, again, fell a little short.”
Reeves made 8-of-16 shots from the floor to lead Kentucky with 19 points. He spurred the Wildcats on a late 7-0 run that was decisive as he scored on a layup in the half-court to tie the game at 76-76 with 2:14 to play.
“I thought going into this that we would have a great opportunity to win the game,” Golden commented. “I thought our preparation was really good all week and I have a great level of respect for Coach Cal and the success he’s had in this league, obviously over his career.”