National Basketball Association
Kentucky 66, Florida 57
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 9, 2019
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Don Daily, # Rob Rorke, # Mike Nance
Attendance:
24456
By Field Level Media
No. 6 Kentucky pulled away in the second half against Florida, as freshman guard Tyler Herro scored 16 points to lift the Wildcats to a 66-57 win over the Gators in Lexington, Ky.
With Tennessee losing to Auburn earlier Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats (26-5, 15-3 SEC) looked to claim a three-way share of the league title. But LSU beat Vanderbilt later Saturday night to spoil Kentucky's hopes.
Sophomore forward PJ Washington added 15 points and nine rebounds for Kentucky. Freshman guards Keldon Johnson and Ashton Hagans each had 14 points.
Up 44-42 in the second half, Kentucky took control of the game with a 10-0 run, holding Florida scoreless for more than a six-minute stretch. Herro capped the run with a floater in the lane that put Kentucky up 54-42.
Senior center Kevarrius Hayes led the Gators (17-14, 9-9) with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting, but it wasn't enough for Florida to avoid its third straight loss and suffer another blow to its hopes to earn a third straight NCAA Tournament berth. Senior guard Jalen Hudson added 13 points but struggled from the perimeter, going 6-for-16 from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
The Gators trailed by as many as nine points in the first half before rallying to take a 31-30 into halftime. After a Hagans 3-pointer put Kentucky up 25-16, Florida went on an 8-0 run. Sophomore guard Mike Okauru hit a 3-pointer to cut Kentucky's lead to 25-21, then Hudson scored three straight points to pull Florida within 25-24.
Freshman center Isaiah Stokes put Florida up 29-27 on an inside layup, then a Stokes shot-fake and dunk gave Florida a 31-28 edge. Johnson made a pair of free throws before the half for the Wildcats, cutting the Gators' lead to 31-30 at halftime.
Florida shot 48 percent from the field in the first half, while holding Kentucky to 41 percent shooting.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Kentucky |
|
Kevarrius Hayes 19 |
Scoring |
Tyler Herro 16 |
|
Andrew Nembhard 8 |
Assists |
Keldon Johnson 3 |
|
Jalen Hudson 6 |
Rebounds |
PJ Washington 9 |
|
Kevarrius Hayes 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Ashton Hagans 7 |
|
KeVaughn Allen 1 |
Steals |
Ashton Hagans 1 |
|
Kevarrius Hayes 2 |
Blocks |
Keldon Johnson 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Florida
|
57 |
44.4 |
3-18 |
6-11 |
14 |
22 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
| Kentucky
|
66 |
41.3 |
2-7 |
26-32 |
9 |
37 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
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