Kentucky came out of the gate on fire, but lost the mojo down the stretch.
What was the Senior Day at Rupp Arena, the Wildcats fell to the Florida Gators by a final score of 71-67. Kentucky got a 26-16 lead in the middle of the first half as it started the afternoon 7-11 from the ground. However, the Cats would shoot just 12-37 the rest of the way while Florida outscored them by five in the second half to flee with the win.
Davion Mintz led the way to Kentucky, adding 21 points on a 7-14 shot and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. Three of his Wildcat teammates also finished in double figures, as BJ Boston (13 points), Isaiah Jackson (11) and Jacob Toppin (11) helped fill in the scoring gaps. The free throws kept Kentucky alive all the time as they finished between 25 and 29 in the charity.
Once Florida employed a zone defense in the second half, Kentucky’s offense stalled more than a couple of times. The United Kingdom suffered several droughts that lasted more than three minutes, turned the ball over 15 times in total and handed out only seven dimes. The missed opportunities, including a 1-11 lead away in the second half, made the Cats try to fight for a hole that turned out to be too deep.
Kentucky shot 9-27 overall in the final 20 minutes of action, while Florida went 10-19. Tre Mann was Florida’s engine, scoring 21 points, as the Gators shot more than 52% from the ground and 47% beyond the arc. The Cats are now down to 7-8 in the SEC and are further away from a possible goodbye to the upcoming conference tournament.