Final
Prather helps Florida take out Kentucky
Feb 16, 2014 - 5:32 AM Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Casey Prather scored a game-high 24 points to lead third-ranked Florida to a 69-59 win over No. 14 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.Scottie Wilbekin added 23 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the free throw line and Patric Young gave 10 points for the Gators (23-2, 12-0 SEC), who tied a school record with their 17th consecutive win.
With the victory, Florida opened a three-game lead atop the SEC standings.
Andrew Harrison scored 20 points, James Young added 19 and Julius Randle finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (19-6, 9-3), who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
"What they did, they've done, I'm guessing, ten games this year, where, with five minutes to go, four minutes to go, three minutes to go, it's anybody's ballgame. Then they just grinded better than the other team grinds it, like they did us. They were just a little too experienced for us down the stretch," said Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Kentucky led 45-38 after Harrison tipped in a Randle miss with 11:13 left. Young's 3-point play moments later sparked a 9-1 run that put the Gators in front 47-46. Young also closed the flurry with a three-point play and Wilbekin nailed a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down earlier in the run.
The Wildcats regained the lead when Randle knocked down a pair of free throws, but Calipari was whistled for a technical foul and Wilbekin made the subsequent free throws and Prather added a layup with just under eight minutes to go to make it 51-48.
"You have to ask him. I just told the guy -- I was speaking softly. I don't know what he heard me say with my back to him, so you have to ask him," said Calipari on why he was issued an technical foul.
Aaron Harrison knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner at the 6:04 mark to tie the game at 53, but Florida ran away with it from there.
Prather and Wilbekin each knocked down a pair of free throws and Michael Frazier II delivered the dagger with his 3-pointer with 4:14 remaining for a five-point lead. Wilbekin was blocked by Willie Cauley-Stein, but Dorian Finney-Smith grabbed the rebound and kicked it out of Frazier, who buried the trey.
Andrew Harrison pulled Kentucky within five points with just under two minutes to go, but Prather skied over four Wildcats for an offensive rebound with 55 seconds left and split a pair of free throws to all but seal the win.
"I think down the stretch we knew what we had to do to be able to get the win. I think we did a really good job guarding them down the stretch, getting stops and rebounds. Casey (Prather) had a huge rebound, Dorian (Finney-Smith) did a good job as well. We just made plays and I think that helped us." said Wilbekin.
A Randle dunk with two minutes left in the first half gave Kentucky a 31-24 lead, but Finney-Smith's layup, followed by a pair of Wilbekin free throws with nine seconds left, made it 31-28 at the break.
Game Notes
Florida won at Rupp Arena for the first time since Feb. 10, 2007 ... The Gators outscored Kentucky 34-22 in the paint ... Florida committed just five turnovers ... The Gators were 22-for-28 from the free throw line, including 15-for-17 from the charity stripe in the second half ... Florida hosts Auburn on Wednesday ... Kentucky was 14-for-23 from the free throw line ... The Wildcats got just two points from their reserves ... Kentucky visits Ole Miss on Tuesday.
- FLORIDA: 69
KENTUCKY: 59
Final
Feb 15 11:02 PM - 165
rootsRUWTbot Took away 25 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 61, Kentucky(14) 57 2nd - 2:54Feb 15 10:55 PM - 190
rootsRUWTbot Took away 25 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 60, Kentucky(14) 57 2nd - 2:54Feb 15 10:55 PM - 215
rootsRUWTbot Added 10 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 59, Kentucky(14) 57 2nd - 3:08Feb 15 10:51 PM - 205
rootsRUWTbot Added 68 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 59, Kentucky(14) 57 2nd - 3:24Feb 15 10:51 PM - 137
rootsRUWTbot Took away 48 roots (Close Finish, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 59, Kentucky(14) 55 2nd - 4:16Feb 15 10:50 PM - 180
rootsRUWTbot Added 32 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 56, Kentucky(14) 55 2nd - 4:46Feb 15 10:48 PM - 148
rootsRUWTbot Took away 22 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 56, Kentucky(14) 53 2nd - 5:05Feb 15 10:47 PM - 170
rootsRUWTbot Added 10 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 55, Kentucky(14) 53 2nd - 5:05Feb 15 10:46 PM - 160
rootsRUWTbot Added 28 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 53, Kentucky(14) 53 2nd - 6:03Feb 15 10:44 PM - 132
rootsRUWTbot Took away 18 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 53, Kentucky(14) 50 2nd - 6:37Feb 15 10:44 PM - 150
rootsRUWTbot Added 10 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 51, Kentucky(14) 50 2nd - 6:50Feb 15 10:43 PM - 140
rootsRUWTbot Added 16 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 51, Kentucky(14) 49 2nd - 7:22Feb 15 10:42 PM - 124
rootsRUWTbot Added 8 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 51, Kentucky(14) 48 2nd - 7:22Feb 15 10:42 PM - 116
rootsRUWTbot Took away 14 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 51, Kentucky(14) 48 2nd - 8:01Feb 15 10:42 PM - 130
rootsRUWTbot Added 10 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 47, Kentucky(14) 46 2nd - 8:14Feb 15 10:42 PM - 120
rootsRUWTbot Added 40 roots (Close Finish, Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 44, Kentucky(14) 45 2nd - 9:23Feb 15 10:41 PM - 80
rootsRUWTbot Added 8 roots (Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 41, Kentucky(14) 45 2nd - 10:41Feb 15 10:39 PM - 72
rootsRUWTbot Added 6 roots (Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 36, Kentucky(14) 37 2nd - 15:26Feb 15 10:19 PM - 66
rootsRUWTbot Added 7 roots (Upset, Ranked Teams)
Florida(3) 36, Kentucky(14) 34 2nd - 16:01Feb 15 10:14 PM - FLORIDA: 28
KENTUCKY: 31
Halftime
Feb 15 9:53 PM - 59
roots - 54
roots - FLORIDA: 0
KENTUCKY: 0
1st Half - 20:00
Feb 15 9:06 PM
Related News
- Tuesday Headlines: Kentucky in the College Basketball Rankings Dec 26
- Monday Headlines: Merry Christmas! Dec 25
- A Sea Of Blue Reacts on if Kentucky wins the SEC regular-season crown Dec 24
- VJ Edgecombe will make decision soon; cuts list to 5 Dec 23
- Louisville won’t fire Kenny Payne midseason; school reportedly swimming in debt Dec 22
- Friday Headlines: John Calipari Supports Kenny Payne Edition Dec 22
- Reed Sheppard emulates Tyler Ulis’ bloody face performance vs. Louisville Dec 21
- John Calipari gives update on Zvonimir Ivisic Dec 21
- Highlights, MVP, and Twitter reactions to Kentucky’s blowout of Louisville Dec 21
- Kentucky rolls by Louisville: 4 things to know and postgame cheers Dec 21
- Kentucky vs. Louisville game thread and pregame reading Dec 21
- Billy Richmond commits to Kentucky Dec 21