National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kentucky 68, Florida 61
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 7, 2015
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials: # Patrick Adams, # Lee Cassell, # Doug Shows
Attendance: 12578

No. 1 Kentucky 68, Florida 61: Aaron Harrison scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 as the visiting Wildcats withstood an upset bid by the Gators.

Willie Cauley-Stein had 13 points and Devin Booker chipped in 12 for Kentucky (23-0, 10-0 SEC), which snapped a three-game losing streak to Florida and tied the second-best start in school history. Only four players made a field goal for the Wildcats, who remained unbeaten despite shooting 3-of-14 from 3-point range and allowing Florida to shoot 49 percent.

Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, Kasey Hill added 12 and Eli Carter had 11 for Florida (12-11, 5-5). The Gators had a chance to tie the game at 61 with 1:41 left but Jon Horford missed two foul shots and the Wildcats closed on a 7-2 run to secure the victory.

Kentucky committed 10 first-half turnovers and trailed 30-28 at the break after closing on an 8-2 run. The first six minutes of the second half featured five lead changes and the game remained close into the final minutes, when Cauley-Stein converted two free throws with just over three minutes left to put the Wildcats ahead 59-54 before Finney-Smith drained a 3-pointer on Florida’s next possession

Carter scored to cut Florida’s deficit to 61-59 with 2:14 left, but Kentucky took control after Horford - who came in shooting 89.7 percent from the foul line - missed two free throws. The Wildcats were 21-of-22 from the foul line compared to 7-of-14 for Florida, which fell to 2-11 all-time against the nation’s No. 1 team.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Kentucky freshman F Trey Lyles missed his third straight game due to an undisclosed illness. … Florida G Michael Frazier was limited to six minutes in the second half due to an ankle injury and finished with 10 points. … Cauley-Stein provided the play of the game with a tomahawk dunk over Devin Robinson that tied the game at 44 with 12:09 remaining.
Top Game Performances
 
Kentucky   Florida
Aaron Harrison 23 Scoring Dorian Finney-Smith 16
Tyler Ulis 5 Assists Kasey Hill 6
Karl-Anthony Towns 8 Rebounds Dorian Finney-Smith 5
Aaron Harrison 8 Free Throws Made Michael Frazier II 2
Dominique Hawkins 2 Steals Chris Chiozza 3
Karl-Anthony Towns 2 Blocks Devin Robinson 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Kentucky 68 46.8 3-14 21-22 12 28 2 4 15
Florida 61 49.0 6-21 7-14 9 19 1 8 11