No. 1 Florida 61, Kentucky 60: Patric Young recorded 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks as the Gators held off the Wildcats to win the SEC tournament final in Atlanta.
Michael Frazier II added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, for No. 1 seed Florida (32-2), which will enter the NCAA tournament on a school-record 26-game winning streak. Casey Prather and Scottie Wilbekin each added 11 points while Will Yeguete grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the top-ranked Gators, who overcame 7-of-17 shooting from the free-throw line.
Aaron Harrison led the way with 16 points and James Young scored 13 for Kentucky (24-10), which shot 35.3 percent from the field. Andrew Harrison netted 10 points while Willie Cauley-Stein contributed 10 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks off the bench for the second-seeded Wildcats, who finished 3-of-11 from 3-point land.
Chris Walker converted a three-point play to put Florida on top 35-21 and the Gators held Kentucky to 34.5 shooting in the first half to take a 40-30 advantage at the break. Prather's driving layup extended Florida's lead to 16 early in the second stanza as the Gators began to pull away.
Aaron Harrison scored seven points during a 14-0 run to close the gap to 54-53 before Wilbekin nailed a jumper to put Florida up by six with 5:05 remaining. James Young hit a clutch triple to pull the Wildcats within one with 1:30 left but Kentucky could not take advantage of two late Florida misses from the free throw line as Young slipped while trying to hoist up the potential game-winning shot in the closing seconds.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida improved to 7-1 in games decided by five points or fewer this season. … The Gators won their first SEC tournament championship since 2007 … Kentucky finished 21-of-26 from the foul line.
Kentucky | Florida | |
Aaron Harrison 16 | Scoring | Michael Frazier II 14 |
Aaron Harrison 2 | Assists | Scottie Wilbekin 6 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 11 | Rebounds | Will Yeguete 7 |
Andrew Harrison 8 | Free Throws Made | Casey Prather 3 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 2 | Steals | Casey Prather 4 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 5 | Blocks | Patric Young 3 |