20Kentucky 74 - 59 Florida
Final
  for this game

Kentucky tops Florida to complete perfect SEC season

Mar 4, 2012 - 8:04 PM Gainesville, FL (Sports Network) - Anthony Davis posted a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds -- both game highs -- powering top-ranked Kentucky to a 74-59 win over No. 16 Florida at the O'Connell Center.

Davis also blocked six shots for the Wildcats (30-1, 16-0 SEC), who set a school record for regular season wins and finished Southeastern Conference play with an unblemished record, joining the 1996 and 2003 Kentucky squads as the only teams to accomplish the feat since 1956.

Terrence Jones supplied 19 points and Marquis Teague added 12 in Kentucky's 22nd straight win.

Patric Young had 21 points and nine rebounds to pace Florida (22-9, 10-6), while Erik Murphy contributed totals of 14 and eight.

The Gators lost three consecutive games to close out the regular season, dropping them to the fourth seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

Florida won the last meeting against the Wildcats in Gainesville, but fell behind by seven, 11-4, early in Sunday's contest before rallying to go up 14-13 on Young's layup.

It proved to be the Gators' only lead.

Kentucky scored the next 12 points and went up 38-22 on a Jones layup with 4:10 remaining in the first half.

Florida halved its deficit by the break, 40-32, and closed the gap to two, 46-44, as Young's dunk capped a 22-8 surge 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.

The Wildcats reclaimed a double-digit lead, 54-44, on a three-pointer by the 6-foot-10 Davis, but the Gators continued to stay close and were within 59-55 after Young hit a jumper with 9:04 remaining.

Florida made just one more field goal, however. By the time Erving Walker converted a layup, eight minutes had elapsed and Kentucky held a comfortable lead.

Game Notes

Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with seven points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals...The Wildcats have blocked 278 shots this season, the most in school history...The Gators shot 33.3 percent (9-of-27) in the second half...Florida made 6-of-22 three-pointers for the game...Walker had eight points and five assists...Florida fell to 0-9 all-time against top- ranked Kentucky teams...The Gators hosted a No. 1 team for the third time and first since 1978.






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