Gators blow late lead against No. 6 Kentucky to drop SEC opener

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida was minutes away from a marquee win to open SEC play Saturday but couldn’t finish against No. 6 Kentucky. The Gators blew a late lead in their 87-85 loss with eight second-half turnovers and poor execution from 3 on both ends.

The Gators led for the majority of the game, but Kentucky pulled ahead late on a 3-pointer by freshman forward Aaron Bradshaw with 1:27 remaining. Senior guard Zyon Pullin kept UF alive with a 3-point play, two more free throws and another layup, but freshman guard Reed Sheppard made all six of his free throws in the final 30 seconds to keep Kentucky in front.

“I think it was a missed opportunity, for sure,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “This game came down to a possession here, possession there, you know, we missed a wide-open three late and Bradshaw hit a big-time shot, and it was a dagger shot.

“Honestly, this was a game that I expected to win, to be honest. … They’re playing a lot of young guys this year. I thought this would be a great opportunity to kind of catch them early before the middle of SEC play. And shoot, we led for 30 minutes. So, we were right there and that’s going to sting.”

After losing their halftime edge, the Gators responded with a 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the second period, 58-51. Kentucky battled back, however, trimming the deficit to one-possession before tying the game at 72 with 4:11 to play.

Down 45-37 at the half, the Wildcats regained the lead less than five minutes into the second period with a 3-pointer from freshman guard DJ Wagner, who scored 10 of their first 17 points after the break. Wagner and Sheppard both scored 14 and were two of five double-digit scorers for UK, along Bradshaw (10), senior guard Antonio Reeves (team-high 19) and senior forward Tre Mitchell (12), who posted a double-double with 10 rebounds.

“I’ll just say this, Florida’s really good. We got lucky,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “I’m happy we won the game. I’m happy for our team. But I imagine they’re looking forward to coming to Lexington.”

Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gators with 23 points apiece, sophomore guard Riley Kugel scored 15 points off the bench and freshman center Alex Condon finished with 10 points. It was an off day for junior guard Will Richard, missing all eight shot attempts (0-for-7 from 3), and UF struggled once again at the line, missing 11 free throws and shooting 62 percent (18-for-29).

Florida trailed early but built a double-digit lead late in the first half with a 12-2 run. After Kentucky tied the game at 27 with 7:39 left, UF went up by 10 behind 3-pointers from Clayton and Kugel and led by as many as 11 after another 3 by Pullin.

The Gators shot 8-for-20 from downtown (40 percent) to take an eight-point lead into the locker room over the Wildcats, who were held to 1-for-10 from 3 in the first half. Those percentages were reversed in the second period as Kentucky shot 40 percent (4-for-10) and UF was 1-for-11 from behind the arc.

“The thing that’s bothering me more right now is I thought we missed some really good looks (from 3),” Golden said. “And in the moment, a game like this, great atmosphere, the crowd was amazing, you feel like you’ve got to step up and knock some of those down. And obviously free throws are a part of that, but I’m struggling more with the 1-for-11 from 3 in the second half, because I thought we took really good shots.” 

Florida (10-4, 0-1 SEC) is back in action Wednesday at Ole Miss. Tip is set for 9 p.m. on SEC Network.