Kentucky falls short in 92-83 loss at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (LEX18) — After a slow start to the season, No. 25 Kentucky entered Gainesville having won eight of its last nine games, with a chance to pull even atop the SEC standings against reigning national champion, No. 14 Florida. Instead, the Wildcats saw their hot-streak slowed with a 92-83 road loss.

Florida seized control early behind hot shooting from Xaivian Lee, who scored 10 quick points, as the Gators built a double-digit lead. The Wildcats fell behind by as many as 15 midway through the half as Florida shot over 60% and capitalized on turnovers for easy transition points.

Kentucky steadied late, using a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to five as Florida went nearly five minutes without a basket.

Otega Oweh entered Gainesville needing just five points to reach 1,000 in his Kentucky career. During the Wildcats’ late first-half run, he hit the milestone on a layup, becoming just the fifth transfer in program history to join Kentucky’s 1,000-point club.

Florida answered before the break, hitting five of its final seven shots to push the lead back to nine and take a 43-34 advantage into halftime. Lee led the Gators with 13 points, while Thomas Haugh added 12. Denzel Aberdeen paced Kentucky with nine, followed by Oweh with eight.

After the break, Florida and Kentucky traded blows early as the Wildcats briefly cut the deficit to two behind a Collin Chandler three and a Malachi Moreno dunk. But each Kentucky push was met with a response, as Thomas Haugh and Xaivian Lee helped the Gators rebuild the lead.

Foul trouble soon complicated matters for Kentucky’s frontcourt, with Moreno picking up his fourth foul. Rueben Chinyelu scored four straight points to help stretch the margin again after a Jasper Johnson three briefly pulled the Wildcats closer.

Florida took over with a quick 7–0 run, pushing the lead back to double digits midway through the half. Kentucky struggled to convert at the rim and committed costly turnovers, allowing the Gators to extend both their rebounding advantage and overall control of the game.

Kentucky made a late push, but couldn’t slow Florida’s frontcourt down the stretch, falling 92-83 on the road. The Wildcat's move to 17-8, 8-4 in the SEC.

Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 19 points, while Collin Chandler added 18 and Otega Oweh finished with 13.

Florida was paced by Xaivian Lee with a game-high 22 points, while Urban Klavzar came off the bench with 19, knocking down five three-pointers.

Kentucky returns home Tuesday, Feb. 17, to host Georgia at Rupp Arena, with tipoff set for 9 p.m. on ESPN.

For more on Kentucky Basketball and all of the Wildcats, join us on BBN Tonight, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.

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