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Graham Shepherd
The ‘Cats and Gators put on a show in front of the Rupp Arena crowd early Saturday morning. The unconventional 11:00 a.m. EST tip-off didn’t quiet a rowdy crowd in Lexington. The ‘Cats offense was rolling on its way to a huge 106-100 win over the formerly undefeated No. 6 Florida Gators. Kentucky got off to a slow start on both sides of the ball, falling behind 26-15 midway through the first half. They then turned the tide and ripped off a 16-0 run and 12-2 run to end the half with a 10-point lead. The second half featured a back and forth affair with the ‘Cats failing to securely pull away thanks to impressive performances by Florida Guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin. Clayton contributed 23 second half points, while Martin added 20 second half points to keep Florida in the game. After a rough game to start, Andrew Carr hit a handful of clutch buckets to help Kentucky seal the win, with Lamont Butler adding his veteran presence down the stretch in pressure moments. Koby Brea was on fire from the three-point line, hitting 7 of 9 threes on his way to a 23-point performance. Overall, the ‘Cats struggled on the boards and with physicality throughout the game but Williams, Garrison and Carr responded when called upon down the stretch when it mattered the most. It was a good taste of what the rest of the season will look like in the SEC for the ‘Cats. They look to keep their momentum going as they hit the road for the first time in conference play this week against Georgia and Mississippi State.
Pre-Game Thoughts:
The ‘Cats entered SEC play at home against the red-hot Florida Gators early on Saturday. It was the earliest tip-off time in Rupp Arena history at 11:00 a.m. EST. The Gators entered the game 13-0 on the season and ranked No. 6 in the country in the latest AP Poll. Key wins include Florida State, Wake Forest, Arizona State, and North Carolina. None of their wins on the season are against ranked teams, however. The Gator offense is led by Walter Clayton Jr. (17.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.8 APG), Florida Atlantic Transfer Alijah Martin (15.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.1 APG), and Will Richard (14.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.2 APG). The Gators sun a similar fast-paced style of offense to the Mark Pope attack. The Kentucky offense is led by Otega Oweh (15.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.7 APG), Lamont Butler (13.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.1 APG), and Koby Brea (11.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 49% from 3PT). The keys to the game on Saturday include the rebounding battle, getting off to a fast start offensively, and converting three-pointers. The ‘Cats are battled tested heading into the gauntlet of SEC play.
The spread for Saturday’s matchup versus Florida was -3.5 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 166.5.
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams.
Game Recap:
First Half
The ‘Cats won the tip and Carr missed the first shot of the game for the ’Cats. Florida picked up an offensive rebound and put a miss back in for the first points of the game. Clayton hit a three on an out-of-bounds play in the corner. Williams gathered a offensive board and converted a and-one opportunity to make the score 5-3 Florida. The Gators and the ‘Cats traded buckets in a physical start to the game. Florida led 10-5 at the first media timeout. Carr nailed a three out of the timeout for Kentucky. Florida responded going to the paint for back-to-back buckets. Brea ended a quick Florida 6-0 run with a pull-up three. The Gators took a 20-11 lead with 13-minutes to play. Williams hit a layup then slammed home a thunderous dunk to shrink the Florida lead to 5. The Gators responded with back-to-back threes to push their lead back to 11, 26-15. Butler found a wide-open Brea for a corner three and the ‘Cats trailed 26-18 with 10:29-minutes to play in the first half. Oweh drove to the basket and converted an and-one opportunity to make the score 26-21 Florida. Oweh slammed in a Almonor miss. Almonor then tossed a pass to Brea for a three to tie the game at 26. The ‘Cats continued to get stops and Oweh drove in a hit a floater for the lead, followed by a rhythm three to push the Kentucky lead to 31-26 with 7:15-minutes to play in the first half. The ‘Cats were on a 16-0 run over the last 3:38-minutes of play. Garrison peeled off a screen and Carr found him for a lay-in plus the foul. The ’Cats passed their way into another Brea corner three to push their lead to 36-29. Florida responded with an and-one on the other end to make the score 36-31 after the missed free-throw. Clayton hit a three on the next trip down to make the score 36-34 Kentucky. Brea took his man off the dribble for a driving score. The ‘Cats led 38-34 at the under 4-minute media timeout. Williams hit a cutting Robinson for an easy layup, but Florida responded with a three. Florida tied the game with a layup. Robinson then responded with a Robinson three. Robinson peeled off a screen and hit a mid-range jumper. Butler then picked Claytons pocket and drove it in for an and-one score. The ‘Cats led 48-40 after the free-throw. Butler pulled up for another mid-range jumper to push the lead to 10. Florida hit two free-throws. Carr picked up an offensive board and was fouled on the putback. Carr missed both free-throws but Butler again stole the ball from Clayton and drove in transition for a score at the end of the half. Kentucky led 52-42.
The ‘Cats started the game off very sluggish and struggled to get going offensively. They trailed by as much as 11 points midway through the first half but fought their way back to take a 10-point halftime lead. The half featured a 16-0 run and a 12-2 run to end the half. The ‘Cats shot 57% from the field while going 7 of 16 (44%) from beyond the arc in the first half. A key stat was Kentucky forced 6 turnovers while turning those turnovers into 15 points. The ‘Cats also scored 9 points in transition while holding Florida to 0 transition points and no points off turnovers. Koby Brea led the team in scoring with 14 first half points on 4 of 5 from 3PT. Otega Oweh added 10 points in the half. Ansley Almonor led the team in plus/minus with an astounding +17 in just 7 minutes of action. The ‘Cats will look to start the second half strong to keep their run going in the first SEC game of the season against the undefeated No. 6 Florida Gators.
Halftime: Kentucky 52 – Florida 42
Second Half
Florida began the half with a second chance opportunity three that Martin nailed in the corner. Clayton followed it with a transition pull-up three to narrow the lead to 42-48 Kentucky. Butler drove in for the first ‘Cats score of the half. Williams was fouled and went to the line where he hit 1 of 2 free-throws. Butler fouled Clayton on a three-point attempt. Clayton hit 2 of 3 at the line. Robinson hit a three of a screen. Williams responded to a Florida score with a lay-in. Florida rebounded their way to an open three. The ‘Cats led 60-55 with 15:48-minutes to play. Perry nailed a three off a screen from Garrison. Florida went on a quick 4-0 run to narrow the score to 63-59 ‘Cats. Williams bullied his way to a score in the paint. Florida continued to dominate the glass and picked up another offensive board and scored with a foul to narrow the Kentucky lead to 65-64. Carr was fouled and went to the line for two, hitting both. Martin scored on a mid-range shot and Williams responded for the ’Cats with a muscled and-one chance. Kentucky led 70-66 after the free-throw. Martin hit a step-back three to narrow the score back to 1, 70-69 with 12:05-minutes to play in the half. Oweh pulled up an hit a mid-range shot over Martin. Oweh was blocked at the rim but gathered the board and went back up to get fouled. Oweh hit both free-throws for a 74-69 ‘Cats lead. Oweh then locked down his man on the defensive end to force a shot-clock violation. Oweh then scored on a floater to the rim. Williams found a cutting Butler for another score. Williams was fouled on an offensive board as the ‘Cats led 78-69. Carr was hacked and scored with no foul. Clayton made a three as the clock was expiring then was fouled at the rim for two shots. Kentucky led 80-4 after the free-throws. Brea nailed a three off another screen. Kentucky led 83-74 with 7:49 minutes to play. Clayton pulled up over Perry for an easy score. Brea score over a defender for another deep three. Brea rallied his way to another three-point shot that he nailed, making him 7 of 8 from three for the game. The ‘Cats led 89-80 before Florida free-throws following a foul by Garrison. Clayton peeled off a screen for a three. Clayton was fouled and went back to the line. The lead was cut to 2 at 89-87. Butler hit a three out of the timeout to push the lead to 92-87 Kentucky. Butler picked up a board and ran out in transition but was fouled going to the basket. He hit both free-throws to make the score 94-87 ‘Cats. Garrison fouled out and put Florida on the line for free-throws following a questionable call. The ‘Cats led 94-90 after the free-throws. Carr hit a spin move in the paint for a score. Another questionable foul on the next trip down the floor on Carr put the Gators back on the line. After the free-throws the ‘Cats led 96-91 with 2-minutes to play. Carr peeled to the corner as the shot clock was winding down and Butler found him for a wide-open three to push the Kentucky lead to 99-91 with 1:25 minutes to play. Clayton hit a skying layup for a score. Butler drove it to the paint and was fouled on a shot. Butler hit 1 of 2 at the line. The Gators picked up another offensive board and put it back in for a score. Kentucky led 100-95 with 37 seconds to play. Carr was fouled and went to the line for one and the bonus. He hit both for a 102-95 lead for Kentucky. Clayton was fouled going to the rim, but missed both free-throws. Kentucky picked up the rebound and Butler was fouled and went to the line. Butler hit both free throws. Martin nailed a corner three to narrow the score to 104-98 ‘Cats with 13-seconds to play. Robinson hit both free-throws and then Clayton again scored at the rim with 5 seconds to play. Carr caught a long pass from Brea to run out the clock in a 106-100 Kentucky win.
Final: Kentucky 106 – Florida 100
Game Stats:
Florida FG %: 55% (35% 3PT – 12 of 34) (63% FT – 22 of 35)
Kentucky FG %: 58% (48% 3PT – 14 of 29) (75% FT – 18 of 24)
Rebounds: 38 – 30 Florida
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 25:6
Turnovers: UK (6), Florida (9)
Bench Points: 28 – 13 Kentucky
Points off Turnovers: 20 – 4 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 17 – 8 Kentucky
Paint Points: 44 – 38 Kentucky
Player Stats:
Koby Brea – [(23 points) (1 rebound)]
Lamont Butler – [(19 points) (2 rebounds) (8 assists) (3 steals)]
Otega Oweh – [(16 points) (4 rebounds) (2 steals)]
Amari Williams – [(15 points) (8 rebounds) (5 assists) (1 block)]
Andrew Carr – [(14 points) (4 rebounds) (5 assists)]
Jaxson Robinson – [(14 points) (1 rebound) (2 assists) (1 block)]
Travis Perry – [(3 points) (1 assist)]
Brandon Garrison – [(2 points) (3 rebounds) (3 assists)]
Ansley Almonor – [(3 rebounds) (1 assist) (1 steal)] [led team with +20 in 12 minutes]
Next Game:
The ‘Cats (12-2, 1-0 SEC) will hit the road for their first SEC road matchup of the season against the Georgia Bulldogs (12-1, 0-0 SEC) in Athens on January 7. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
