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Kentucky came out of the burning gate but lost its mojo along the stretch.
On what was Senior Day at Rupp Arena, the Wildcats fell to the Florida Gators by a final score of 71-67. Kentucky took a 26-16 lead midway through the first half as they started the afternoon 7-11 from the floor. However, the ‘Cats’ would only shoot 12-37 the rest of the time as Florida outscored them by five in the second half to sneak in with the win.
Davion Mintz led the way for Kentucky, registering 21 points on a 7-14 shot and a perfect 5-5 on the free throw line. Three of his Wildcat teammates also finished in double digits as BJ Boston (13 points), Isaiah Jackson (11) and Jacob Toppin (11) helped close the scoring gaps. The free throws kept Kentucky alive throughout as they finished 25-29 from the charity strip.
After Florida used zone defense in the second half, Kentucky’s offense stalled more than a few times. The UK has seen several droughts that lasted for more than three minutes, spun the ball more than 15 times in total and handed out just seven cents. Missed chances, including a 1-11 distance mark in the second half, pushed the “Cats” to fight out of a hole that turned out to be too deep.
Kentucky shot 9-27 overall in the final 20 minutes of action while Florida shot 10-19. Tre Mann was the driving force behind Florida, scoring 21 points as the Gators shot over 52% from the ground and 47% from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats now fall to 7-8 in the SEC and further away from a potential brace for the next conference tournament.
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