No. 23 Florida strengthened its grip on first place in the SEC East as the Gators held on to defeat No. 11 Kentucky 70-68 on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.

Chandler Parsons had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Florida (18-5, 7-2 SEC East), which blew a 13-point lead in the second half, but extended its lead on second-place Tennessee to 1½ games.

Brandon Knight scored 24 points for Kentucky (16-6, 4-4 SEC East), which fell 2½ games behind the Gators.

Florida made one field goal in a span of 9:11 in the second half as a 55-42 lead disappeared, and Kentucky went ahead 64-61 on Darius Miller’s 3-pointer with 3:40 to go.

Kentucky led 66-65 after two Knight free throws with 2:05 remaining. Two Erving Walker free throws pushed Florida in front 67-66, and Alex Tyus’ hook shot made it 69-66 Florida with 1:14 left.

Terrence Jones’ dunk pulled Kentucky within 69-68 with 43 seconds left, and after Parsons hit one of two free throws with 12.7 seconds to go, Knight’s 3-pointer bounced off the front rim at the buzzer.

Florida used a 9-0 run in the first half to turn a 28-25 deficit into a 34-28 lead, capped by Kenny Boynton’s 3-pointer with 1:55 left. The Wildcats pulled within 34-32 at halftime on Jon Hood’s jumper at the buzzer.

Boynton added 12 points for the Gators. Jones finished with 18 for the Wildcats.