Gators fail in upset bid against No. 2 Wildcats

By Adam Silverstein
January 12, 2010

Closing out the game on a 17-5 run after being tied at 72 late in the second half, the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats (17-0) stormed the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, taking down the Florida Gators (11-5) 89-77 in Gainesville, FL.

Kentucky freshman guard Eric Bledsoe scored a game-high 25 points on 10-13 shooting while going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He added seven rebounds and five assists as fellow freshman G John Wall accounted for 19 points and six dishes. Junior forward Patrick Patterson dominated the paint with 15 points and seven rebounds, sharing the block with freshman F DeMarcus Cousins (13 points, five boards) and freshman F Daniel Orton, who controlled the post with nine rebounds and four blocks.

Florida was ice cold from downtown in the first half, though junior F Alex Tyus did make two treys (the first and second of his career) before halftime; he finished with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore G Erving Walker was 4-for-9 from three with four assists, scoring the majority of his 20 points in the second half. Freshman G Kenny Boynton finished with 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting while senior F Dan Werner was an abysmal 0-4 from beyond the arc with six rebounds.

A seven-point halftime deficit turned into a seemingly insurmountable 15-point hole for the Gators, but a red-hot Walker combined with a ferocious Tyus knotted the game at 72 with five minutes left in the game. After a alley-oop completed by Wall, Florida unraveled and allowed the Wildcats to pick them apart in front of the Rowdy Reptiles.

Now 0-2 in Southeastern Conference play, the Gators hope to right some wrongs on Saturday when they host the LSU Tigers at 8 p.m. The game will air live on FSN.

2 Comments

  1. ReptilesRule says:

    Billy needs to go out and get some big physical front court players and not these skinny rails and little guys we have recruited the last couple years.

  2. DukeOfDway says:

    I don’t understand why the Gators continuously try to force the 3. Why can’t they take their time a little bit more? They really had a shot tonight, but Kentucky is a hell of a team.

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