Florida Gators
Kentucky
Florida Falls Short to No. 3 Kentucky, 74-66
Sunday, March 7, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Led by 12 points by from junior Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.), 11 from freshman Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.), and nine from freshman Erik Murphy (South Kingstown, R.I.), the Gators moved to 20-11, 9-7 in the SEC, as No. 3 Kentucky withstood a second-half Florida comeback with a 74-66 victory Sunday in Rupp Arena.
UK's Darius Miller's third three early in the second half stopped a 9-1 run by Florida that had helped cut an 18-point deficit to two.
Florida came within two points, 60-58, at the 6:52 mark in the second half thanks to a tip-in by Murphy and again at the 5:35 mark, 62-60, with a dunk by Murphy, but the Gators had trouble putting together a run against Kentucky, who shot 46.9 percent from the field.
Sophomore Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Gators in rebounding, with eight boards and dished out a team-leading four assists.
The Gators out-rebounded the Wildcats, 36-31, and both teams had 13 turnovers, but UF stole eight Kentucky balls, compared to UK's six.
Florida will hit the road for the 2010 SEC Tournament, with first round action starting Thurs., March 11, in Nashville. The Gators are slated to take on Auburn at 7:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
-UF-
