Kentucky rallies from behind to win SEC opener, 87-85
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Cats outlast Gators
Kentucky's Reed Sheppard weaved through the Florida defense in the second half of Saturday's SEC opener in Gainesville. (Matt Pendleton/USA TODAY SPORTS)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
Kentucky is only one game into a long and challenging SEC slate, but John Calipari likes what he sees so far.
"We've got dawgs," the UK head coach said after the No. 6 Wildcats rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Florida 87-85 on Saturday in Gainesville. "What I talked about to these guys, if you want to be a championship-level team, you've got to go on the road, play against somebody's best, hang around, and then win the game... They showed it today."
Kentucky (11-2, 1-0 SEC) trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and went into the locker room down 45-37 at the break. The big culprit was the 3-point arc, where the Gators made eight of their first 20 attempts on the day while the Cats started 1-for-10.
Florida regressed to its norm in the second half, making one of its last 11 from deep, and that allowed UK to gradually chip away at the lead.
Still, Kentucky trailed by six with 9:42 remaining as the Gators used free throws to maintain their lead.
With the score tied at 76 with 1:45 to play, Kentucky freshman center Aaron Bradshaw blocked a Florida shot to give the Cats possession. On the other end of the floor, he splashed a 3-pointer from the top of the key that gave UK a lead it would never surrender.
Reed Sheppard hit six of six free throws in the final 19 seconds to seal the hard-fought victory for the Cats.
It was a big turnaround for Bradshaw, who struggled through the first half with no points and only one rebound. He finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and one timely blocked shot.
"Aaron was awful -- awwwful -- in the first half, then played great in the second half," Calipari said. "I told him, I believe in you, kid. But I am not allowing you to get pushed around or not come up with balls or not dunk balls and then go miss the free throws. You're too good. I'm not letting that happen."
Kentucky was led by senior guard Antonio Reeves with 19 points. DJ Wagner and Sheppard each followed with 14. Tre Mitchell (10) and Bradshaw (10) rounded out five players in double-figure scoring for the Cats. Mitchell also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double in the last three games.
The Gators entered the game as the No. 1 rebounding team in the nation, but UK was able to hang within 43-40 on the glass despite playing without injured sophomore forward Adou Thiero.
Florida (10-4, 0-1 SEC) got 23 points apiece from Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr.
"They played as well as they could play," Calipari said of the Gators. "That's the kind of game, if you win, you know you've got a chance."
"I feel like this shows we can face some adversity but keep fighting and win," Wagner said.
*****
In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
Aaron Bradshaw blocked a shot and knocked down only his third 3-pointer of the season in an 18-second span under the two-minute mark to help give Kentucky the hard-fought win.
GAME BALL:
Aaron Bradshaw, Kentucky - No one would have predicted this award at halftime, but the freshman 7-footer played the best 15 minutes of his young UK career in the second half to save the Cats.
BY THE NUMBERS:
2 - Turnovers by Kentucky in the second half after committing seven in the first half.
5th - Straight win for the Wildcats over the Gators, and 10th win in the last 11 meetings.
6 - Assists by UK, a season-low.
16-13 - Florida edge in second-chance scoring. The Gators entered the game ranked top five nationally in offensive rebound rate.
25% - The Cats made just five of 20 from 3-point range but were 54% from inside the arc.
50 - Second-half points scored by UK.
QUOTABLE:
"We had a lot of Big Blue down here. It was crazy." -- UK head coach John Calipari on the Cats' fan support in Gainesville.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at Rupp Arena against Missouri (8-6, 0-1 SEC). The Tigers lost 75-68 today at home against Georgia. Tip-off for UK and Mizzou is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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