Monk, Wildcats Too Much for Gators in Second Half

Saturday, February 25

Lexington, KY

2 PM

Florida Gators

Kentucky

UF forward Justin Leon uses his lower body Saturday to try and derail Kentucky guard Malik Monk. Didn't work.

Monk, Wildcats Too Much for Gators in Second Half

Saturday, February 25, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Box Score Photo Gallery by Tim Casey

Freshman guard Malik Monk scored 30 of his game-high 33 points after halftime to send No. 11 Kentucky past No. 12 Florida 76-66.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

LEXINGTON, Ky — When the two teams went to halftime Saturday, Kentucky had shot 28 percent through the game's first 20 minutes, and Florida's defense, despite across-the-lineup foul trouble, had held guard Malik Monk, the Southeastern Conference's scoring leader, to just three points and forced him into five of the Wildcats' 12 turnovers.

Yet the score was tied.

Barely five minutes into the second half, the Gators had an eight-point lead when, apparently, Monk just said, "Enough already." UK coach John Calipari had told his freshman scoring phenom to get more aggressive. To drive the ball, get some shots and get his offensive rhythm going.

And did ever.

Monk erupted for 30 second-half points and the No. 11 Wildcats took his cue by shooting a deadly 64 percent in the period to seize control and surge past the 13th-ranked Gators for a 76-66 victory before an ear-splitting Rupp Arena crowd of 24,431. Monk, who came in averaging 21.1 per game, hit eight of his 13 shots after the break, including four of five from the 3-point arc, went 10-for-11 at the free-throw line and offset the absence of starting point guard and SEC assist leader De'Aaron Fox, the Cats' second-leading scorer, who missed the game with a bruised knee.

"He had 30 in the half?" Calipari said after the game, unaware of just how dominant Monk was in those final 20 minutes. "No wonder when I got on him about a couple bad shots he looked at me like I was crazy."

The 33-point performance marked the fourth time Monk had scored at least 30 points in a game, a record for a freshman in Kentucky's storied basketball history. Monk had a career-high 47 earlier in the year in a win over North Carolina, but was held to just 11 three weeks ago in Florida's 88-66 blowout win in Gainesville.

Made up for it this time, though.

"He took the game over," UF coach Mike White said. "He was amazing."

UK power forward Eldrice "Bam" Adebayo was pretty good too. He scored 18 points, converted seven of his 11 shots, grabbed 15 rebounds and served as a force inside against the interior-undermanned Gators, who are still adjusting to the season-ending knee injury to starting center John Egbunu. UF struggled to make just 36.6 percent on the afternoon, shot just six free throws to UK's 27 and was got blasted on the glass 48-30.

In halting Florida's season-best nine-game winning streak, Kentucky (24-5, 14-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the SEC standings with just two games remaining. UF (23-6, 13-3) will be a game out heading into the final week of the regular season, with a home date at Arkansas and road trip to Vanderbilt to wrap up, while UK finishes with Vandy at home and Texas A&M on the road.

"Obviously, we wish we could have got this game, but right now we just have to keep playing and focus on the next ones," senior forward Justin Leon said. "We can't worry about what's going on. We just have to kind of let things happen."

They were happening in Florida's favor early, as the Gators scored the game's first eight points, thanks to the hot hand of sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen, a former high-school rival of Monk's in Arkansas, who was on his way to a 24-point night. UF had an 18-6 advantage seven minutes in when UK started cutting into the lead and the Gators started to pile up the fouls, especially in their backcourt. The Wildcats had a 10-0 run to take their first lead and, after the Gators went back ahead 28-23, scored the half's last five points, all at the free-throw line, to make it 28-all heading to break.

UK was just 8-for-28 from the floor, but UF wasn't much better at 11-for-37 (29.7 percent). The Cats, though, shot 13 free throws (made 10) to the Gators' two. Five of UF's top six rotations players had two fouls.

"We shot 28 percent and at halftime it's a tie game," Calpari said. "It means you're fighting and giving yourself a chance."

UF guard KeVaughn Allen came up on the short end against his former high school rival, Malik Monk (left), but led the Gators with 24 points, giving him 50 the last two games.

Florida led 38-34 when Monk dropped a 3-pointer to close the margin to one, but the Gators answered with run of a seven straight points, all from junior forward Devin Robinson (9 points, 11 rebounds), to jump ahead 45-37.

That's when Monk got serious. He scored 14 of his team's next 18 points, some on drives, some on 3s, some on free throws and the last two on a baseline slam dunk to tie the game at 55 with just under 10 minutes to go. By that time, both of UF's best backcourt defenders, Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza, had four fouls. Allen had three.

As if guarding Monk wasn't tough enough.

"With so many guys in foul trouble, I think that kind of lowered our intensity on defense," Leon said. "They were able to take advantage of it."

Two Monk free throws and a Monk-to-Adebayo alley-oop slam pushed Kentucky in front by four. Allen answered with a 3-pointer, but the Cats took off on an 11-2, with Monk scoring seven of them to take a 10-point lead with four minutes left and cruise home from there.

"I didn't know," Monk said when asked if he was aware of how many points he'd scored. "I was just out there playing, but it was crazy."

When it was over, the Cats had hit 13 of their last 18 field-goal attempts, three of their last four 3-pointers and 10 of their last 11 free throws against one of the best defenses in the country, and did it all without Fox, their pending one-and-done point guard.

It was Florida's 51st loss at Lexington in 60 trips.

"I told the guys, we've got to move on to the next one," White said. "It was fun while it lasted. We lost at Kentucky. It's OK. It happens. A lot of teams lose here. There are a lot of things we can learn from [the game], but right around the corner is Arkansas, who is playing terrific and is very difficult to defend as well."

But they don't have a guy like Monk. Thankfully.