Florida Gators
Kentucky
Gators Display Resilience and Clutch Free Throw Shooting To Win 70-68 Thriller Against Kentucky
Sunday, February 6, 2011 | Men's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - In front of a school-record, orange-clad crowd of 12,633 at the O'Connell Center, the No. 23 University of Florida men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 70-68 victory over the No. 10/11 Kentucky Wildcats in a last-minute thriller, and remained atop the SEC East standings, improving to 18-5 overall (7-2 SEC). UF continued to excel in close games, as they are now 8-3 this season in games decided by six points or less.
The Wildcats took control at the outset, scoring the first six points and led 10-5 at the first media stoppage. Freshman guard Scottie Wilbekin (Gainesville, Fla.) gave the home team a lift, scoring nine points in a 9:15 span—including two momentum-building threes—to help to help give the Orange and Blue a 24-21 edge with 5:45 left in the first half.
A quick 7-1 Kentucky run put them ahead by one but Florida had a 7-0 burst right before halftime and held a 34-32 lead at the break.
The teams traded baskets to begin the second half until Chandler Parsons (Casselberry, Fla.) sparked a Gator run with a three-pointer. Senior forward Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) followed with two free throws and a lay-up, forcing Kentucky to call a timeout, trailing 45-36.
Five consecutive made free throws by senior center Vernon Macklin (Portsmouth, Va.) and sophomore guard Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) boosted Florida to a 55-42 lead with 11:50 remaining as the Gators threatened to put the game out of reach. However, Kentucky took advantage of a Florida drought in which the Gators mustered only three points over the next 6:42, buoyed by the freshman trio of Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb. The freshmen scored Kentucky's next 19 points with 10 coming from Knight—the last two of which, tied the game at 61 with 4:45 left in regulation and set up a frantic finish.
A three from UK's Darius Miller gave the Wildcats their first lead in nearly 20 minutes but Florida's upperclassmen came up with some key plays. After junior guard Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) missed a three on the ensuing possession, Parsons came flying on the weak side and rammed home the miss to pull UF within one. Six seconds later, Walker stripped Knight and drew a foul with Florida already in the bonus. The Brooklyn native drained both free throws to give Florida a one-point lead.
Knight responded with two free throws of his own before Walker was fouled again and sank his two attempts as the Gators led by one with 1:51 to play. UK's Terrence Jones missed a jumper and Tyus corralled the rebound. On the other end, Walker fed Tyus in the post and the senior forward buried a difficult jump hook from the right baseline to put UF ahead by three.
Following a Wildcat 30-second timeout, Jones drove the lane for a dunk to draw Kentucky within one with 40 seconds on the clock. On Florida's next possession, Walker dribbled the clock down and passed to Parsons who drew contact with Florida in the double-bonus. He missed the first but swished the second, leaving the Gators clinging to a two-point lead with13 seconds remaining. Knight dribbled down the court defended by Boynton and after a pick-and-roll, Tyus switched onto him. The Kentucky freshman used a jab step to create separation as Tyus contested and launched a potential game-winning three that fell short with Boynton securing the rebound to seal the game for Florida.
Chandler Parsons led the Gators with a strong all-around performance, leading the Orange and Blue in points (17), rebounds (12) and assists (5 along with Erving Walker) while Kenny Boynton and Vernon Macklin contributed 12 and 11 points respectively. Florida went 18-for-22 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe, including 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) in the final five minutes.
Brandon Knight paced the Wildcats with 24 points while Terrence Jones added 18.
The Gators' next opponent will be the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. in Columbia, S.C. The game can be watched on the SEC Network.
