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Florida sends Kentucky to another narrow loss

Feb 6, 2011 - 5:09 AM Gainesville, FL (Sports Network) - Chandler Parsons did it all with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, as Florida held on for a signature 70-68 win over No. 10 Kentucky at the O'Connell Center.

Kenny Boynton added 12 points and Vernon Macklin notched 11, helping the Gators (18-5, 7-2 SEC) win for the fifth time in their last six contests.

Brandon Knight had a game-best 24 points to pace the Wildcats (16-6, 4-4), who fell to another two-point loss. They dropped a 71-69 decision to Ole Miss on Tuesday after Chris Warren made a three-pointer in the final seconds. Terrence Jones added 18 points and seven boards in the loss.

Alex Tyus finished off a Florida seven-point spurt to go up 45-36 with 16:36 left. Then with 11:50 remaining the Gators went up 55-42 following three free throws from Boynton

But Kentucky used a 9-0 run spanning nearly two minutes, led by Knight's five points, which cut it to 55-51. The margin never got bigger than seven the rest of the way out.

Knight hit two free throws to tie the game at 61 and Darius Miller drilled a trey to give UK a 64-61 lead with 3 1/2 minutes to play. Parsons responded with a dunk, though, and Erving Walker hit two free throws to put Florida back up, 65-64.

The teams knotted the game up two more times during the final two minutes, until Florida claimed the lead for good when Walker went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe for a slim 67-66 margin with 1:51 to go. After Jones missed a jumper on the other end, Tyus' shot tickled the bottom of the net for a 69-66 edge.

Jones cut it to a one-point game with 40 ticks left, however, Parsons hit a free throw on the other end of the court to make up the final score with 13 seconds in regulation.

Knight heaved a would-be winning three-pointer with three seconds to go, but it fell short and Florida was able to slip away with the slim win.

The first half had six ties until the Gators grew a six point lead, 34-28, with just under two minutes to play. But the Wildcats finished out the half with four straight points to cut into Florida's halftime margin, 34-32.

Game Notes

Kentucky still leads the series 88-33...Walker finished with nine points and five assists...UK made 11-of-13 free throws while Florida made 18-of-22 from the line...Both teams had 32 rebounds in the game.