Live Blog: Kentucky 106, Florida 100

The No. 6 Florida Gators dropped their first game of the season Saturday in a 106-100 loss at No. 10 Kentucky in the SEC opener for both teams.

UF trailed by 10 at the break and as many as 11 in the second half, but the Gators battled back and cut the deficit to 89-87 with four minutes left.

But Florida couldn’t close the gap down the stretch and never pulled closer than five points. UF (13-1, 0-1 SEC) has now lost eight straight against top-10 opponents.

Below are live updates from Florida’s conference opener against the Wildcats (12-2, 1-0 SEC).

Florida vs. Kentucky Live Blog

FINAL: KENTUCKY 106, FLORIDA 100.

Florida cut the deficit to one before the last media timeout, but Kentucky responded with five straight points and made more plays than UF in the game’s final minutes. Walter Clayton Jr. (33) and Alijah Martin (26) combined for 59 points, but the Gators’ struggles defending the 3 and at the line cost them.

Koby Brea set career highs for points (team-high 23) and 3-pointers (7-for-9), making half of Kentucky’s treys (14-for-29). UK shot 48 percent from downtown and 58 percent overall (37-for-64), and Brea was one of six Wildcats in double figures. UF shot 55 percent (33-for-60) and 35 percent from 3 (12-for-34).

SCORE UPDATE: KENTUCKY 89, FLORIDA 87 (3:50 2H)

Florida has made it a one-possession game with a 7-0 run over the last 1:43. The Gators have connected on four of their last five shot attempts, while Kentucky hasn’t scored in over two minutes (2:10).

SCORE UPDATE: KENTUCKY 83, FLORIDA 74 (7:49 2H)

The Wildcats went on a 10-0 run after UF cut the deficit to one. Walter Clayton Jr. stopped the bleeding and he’s over 20 points along with Alijah Martin, but the Gators need to get some stops on defense.

SCORE UPDATE: KENTUCKY 70, FLORIDA 69 (12:05 2H)

The Gators have stormed back behind Alijah Martin, who caught fire in the second half with 15 points so far including three 3-pointers. He’s up to a team-high 21, his second 20-point game of the year.

SCORE UPDATE: KENTUCKY 60, FLORIDA 55 (15:48 2H)

The Gators have cut the 10-point deficit in half behind a pair of 3-pointers from Alijah Martin, the second after two offensive rebounds by UF, and Walter Clayton Jr. hitting his fourth trey of the game.

HALF: KENTUCKY 52, FLORIDA 42

The Gators trail by 10 at the break after leading by 11. They tied the game at 40, but Kentucky closed out the first half on a 12-2 run (started 10-0). Walter Clayton Jr. committed two of his four turnovers late in the half and Florida has six turnovers so far, resulting in 15 points for the Wildcats. UF has no points off Kentucky’s three turnovers.

Clayton and Rueben Chinyelu have 10 points apiece and Koby Brea leads Kentucky with 14 points. UK finished the half shooting 57 percent from the floor (21-for-37) and 44 percent from 3 (7-for-16). The Gators shot 48 percent in the in the first period (15-for-31) and 29 percent from downtown (5-for-17).

SCORE UPDATE: KENTUCKY 38, FLORIDA 34 (3:46 1H)

The Gators fell behind by as many as seven points but cut the deficit to 36-34 with another 3-pointer by Walter Clayton Jr. He’s up to 10 points and 3-for-6 from downtown. UF owns a 19-14 edge on the glass.

SCORE UPDATE: KENTUCKY 31, FLORIDA 26 (7:15 1H)

The Wildcats have reeled off a 16-0 run to take the lead and they’re now shooting better from the floor (48 percent) than Florida (45 percent). The Gators have missed their last six shots and haven’t scored in 3:58.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 26, KENTUCKY 18 (10:29 1H)

The Gators pushed their lead to double digits (26-15) after back-to-back 3-pointers by Thomas Haugh and Walter Clayton Jr., who has a pair of treys so far. Florida still has the advantage on the glass, 13-4.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 10, KENTUCKY 5 (15:45, 1H)

The Gators jumped out to a 10-3 lead behind four points by Rueben Chinyelu, a drive by Alijah Martin and a 3-pointer by Walter Clayton Jr., who made seven treys at Kentucky last season in the overtime win.  UF is outrebounding the Cats 8-2 early on.

Florida Gators starters

No.	Player	Position	Height/Weight	Class	Min.	Pts.	Rebs.	Misc.
1	Walter Clayton Jr.	Guard	6-2, 195 pounds	Sr.	30.9	17.2	3.2	3.8 ast.
15	Alijah Martin	Guard	6-2, 210 pounds	Sr.	29.6	15.2	5.7	3.1 ast.
5	Will Richard	Guard	6-4, 206 pounds	Sr.	30.2	14.2	5.0	2.2 stl.
21	Alex Condon	Forward	6-11, 230 pounds	So.	24.8	11.2	7.5	1.5 blk.
9	Rueben Chinyelu	Center	6-10, 260 pounds	So.	18.4	5.2	6.7	1.0 blk.

Kentucky Wildcats starters

No.	Player	Position	Height/Weight	Class	Min.	Pts.	Rebs.	Misc.
1	Lamont Butler	Guard	6-2, 208 pounds	Gr.	24.0	13.3	3.1	4.1 ast.
00	Otega Oweh	Guard	6-4, 215 pounds	Jr.	26.0	15.9	3.6	1.5 stl.
2	Jaxson Robinson	Guard	6-6, 192 pounds	Gr.	28.2	11.9	4.0	1.8 ast.
7	Andrew Carr	Forward	6-11, 235 pounds	Gr.	26.9	11.3	6.2	2.6 ast.
22	Amari Williams	Center	7-0, 262 pounds	Gr.	20.5	10.1	8.5	1.7 blk.

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