FINAL: No. 14 Florida 92, No. 25 Kentucky 83

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Guards Xaivian Lee and Urban Klavzar combined for 41 points, including nine 3s, and were two of Florida's five players to finish in double-figure scoring Saturday, as the 14th-ranked Gators beat No. 25 Kentucky 92-83 in their Southeastern Conference rivalry game before a raucous sellout crowd at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.

The win was UF's fifth straight, as well as its 10th in the last 11 games, and kept the Gators alone atop the SEC standings while putting a couple games distance between them and the Wildcats, who came in sitting in second place, having won eight of nine. It was also Florida's first home defeat of Kentucky since 2018, ending a run of six consecutive losses.

Lee, just three days after scoring 18 in a road win at Georgia, poured in his UF career high of 22 by hitting seven of 12 from the floor and four of seven from deep. Klavzar came off the bench to score 14 of his SEC career-high 19 points in the second half, nailing a career-best five 3s on 11 attempts, three in the second half. Junior forward Thomas Haugh tallied 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior center Rueben Chinyelu posted his 15th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards, with front court mate Alex Condon joining the double-double party with 14 and 11.

Former UF point guard Denzel Aberdeen, in his emotional return to the place he won a NCAA title last season, led the Wildcats with 19 points, but hit just eight of his 21 field-goal tries and went 1-for-6 from the arc.

UF never trailed, shot 45.5% for the game, went 10 of 28 from the arc (35.7%), beat UK on the glass 45-37 and built leads of 15 points in the first half and 16 in the second. The Wildcats did not go away, however, getting as close as four early in the second half and -- after Florida went back up by 16 -- five late before the Gators hit free throws to ice the game. UK shot 43% overall, went nine of 20 from deep, but also turned the ball over 14 times leading to 25 points for the home team.

**Thomas Haugh** and **Rueben Chinyelu (**9) surround former teammate **Denzel Aberdeen (1)** during Saturday's action at the O'Dome.

Turning Point

UF did not buckle when UK cut the lead to four points right out of intermission. Six straight combined from Haugh and Klavzar were huge, but so was a run of nine straight points later in the period to give the Gators a 16-point cushion to work with down the stretch.

Staggering Statistic

The Gators hit at least 10 3-pointers in a second consecutive game for the first time this season. They went 10-for-26 at Georgia on Wednesday night and now are shooting 31% from deep in SEC play.

Up Next

Florida (19-6, 10-2) is back home Tuesday for a rematch against South Carolina (11-13, 2-9). The Gamecocks play at Alabama in the late SEC game Saturday night. UF defeated USC 95-48 on Jan. 28 at Columbia in the most lopsided road conference victory in program history. Kentucky (17-8, 8-4) is home against Georgia Tuesday.

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.

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