Florida Gators
Kentucky
UF Men's Basketball Comeback Falls Short At Kentucky, 75-70
Sunday, March 9, 2008 | Men's Basketball
The University of Florida men's basketball team erased a double-digit deficit but were unable to complete a valiant comeback effort as the Gators fell to Kentucky, 75-70, in the Southeastern Conference regular season finale on Sunday at Rupp Arena.
Florida (21-10, 8-8 SEC) saw its seven-game winning streak over the Wildcats come to an end. Kentucky (18-11, 12-4) defeated the Gators for the first time since Feb. 8, 2005. UF was the only school in SEC history to record seven straight wins over the Wildcats.
Sophomore center Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) led Florida with 20 points and eight rebounds, and freshman guard Nick Calathes (Casselberry, Fla.) had 16 points and six assists.
Kentucky's Perry Stevenson had 18 points—including the game-clinching free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining—and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats won for the sixth time in seven games.
UK took control during a nine-minute barrage early in the second half thanks to a 14-0 run. Kentucky seemed to put the game away during the 27-11 deluge that featured six 3-pointers and several Florida turnovers.
The Wildcats' Derrick Jasper (14 points) knocked down three triples during the run. The first was an awkward bank shot from the corner and the second a line-drive dagger from the top of the key, the result of a desperate heave as the shot clock expired. By the time Jasper knocked down his third, a more conventional swish from the corner, Kentucky led 60-44 with 8:41 remaining.
However, Calathes and Speights brought the Gators back. Using fullcourt pressure to fluster the Wildcats, the Gators got to within 73-70 on a layup by freshman guard Jai Lucas (Bellaire, Texas) with 23 seconds left.
Kentucky burned two time-outs trying to inbound the ball and needed the Gators to knock a couple of balls out of bounds just to get to halfcourt. The ball eventually ended up in Stevenson's hands, and the sophomore calmly knocked down two free throws to seal it.
Florida trailed 33-31 at the half but opened the game in similar fashion to last week's loss to Tennessee. The Gators built a 17-9 lead during the first six minutes of the first half and connected on their first seven shots from the field. Kentucky countered with a 7-0 run and knotted the game at 21-21 at the 9:25 mark on a Joe Crawford layup.
Florida has earned the East No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament that begins Thursday in Atlanta. The Gators will take on West No. 5 seed Alabama at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Georgia Dome. The game will be broadcast on Raycom Sports affiliates.
