College basketball

Second-half surge gives Gators a win

NO. 8 UF 95, KY. 80: Florida's 18-1 run locks up a record 20th straight victory at home.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published February 5, 2006

	[AP photo]
	Florida's Taurean Green puts up a shot over Kentucky's Rajon Rondo and Randolph Morris in the first half on his way to a personal record of 29 points. Green scored 10 during an 18-1 run that locked up the game.

GAINESVILLE - Florida threw itself one heck of a party Saturday night, complete with the ESPN GameDay crew, more than 12,000 of its closest friends and the league's most storied basketball program.

The Gators bring out the good stuff for Kentucky, and No. 8 Florida made sure the celebration was all in its honor.

Trailing by two at halftime, Florida broke open an 11-point lead six minutes into the second half and scored 56 second-half points on its way to a 95-80 win over Kentucky in front of a record 12,609 at the O'Connell Center. It was the most points given up by Kentucky this season.

With the victory the Gators (20-2, 6-2 SEC) retain second place in the SEC East behind Tennessee. It was the Gators' school-record 20th straight home win.

"I don't know what to say. I'm speechless," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "It was such an incredible environment."

Sophomore guard Taurean Green had a career-high 29 points with nine assists, and center Joakim Noah had 26 points and eight rebounds.

Kentucky opened the season in November ranked a preseason No. 9 but has been unranked since Jan. 9. Still, Florida knew that even a "down" Kentucky is still Kentucky, the gold standard of SEC basketball. But with Saturday's win, the Gators have won three consecutive over the Wildcats, including last year's SEC Tournament championship.

"I can't describe to you what this feels like," said Noah, who said his night was highlighted by his mother's attendance. "When you get a win against a team like that, it's just, I can't describe it."

The Wildcats (15-7, 5-3) overcame double-digit deficits in three of their past five games, but a comeback wasn't to be Saturday night. There were seven ties and 15 lead changes in the first half, the largest at five, held by Kentucky late in the half.

Kentucky led 41-39 at halftime after a short jumper by Joe Crawford with 1.2 seconds remaining. Kentucky shot 50 percent in the first half and had seven offensive rebounds. The Wildcats opened up a 45-39 lead in the first 24 seconds of the second half, but Florida rallied in a big way.

Led by 10 points from Green during an 18-1 run, the Gators took a 57-46 lead off Green's 3-pointer with 14:04 left in the game. During that run Kentucky went 6:37 without a field goal.

"They manhandled us and we didn't respond in the right way," UK coach Tubby Smith said. Florida held the Wildcats to 32.4 percent shooting in the second half and countered by shooting 61.5 percent from the field.

With 5:53 remaining the Gators had an 82-62 lead, and there would be no comeback for the Wildcats.

Florida junior guard Lee Humphrey, who was supposed to be sidelined with a torn ligament and separated shoulder, entered the game with 14:23 left in the first half and played 11 minutes, but he did not score. Sophomore guard Corey Brewer, who was scheduled to see limited playing time with a sprained ankle, started and scored 16. Kentucky 3-point specialist Patrick Sparks was 2-for-11 and had five points, and guard Rajon Rondo led the Wildcats with 22 points. Crawford had 19.

"I don't know if we own them yet since they still have the overall record (84-27)," Green said. "We know we'll have to see them again. We have to keep this in perspective."

[Last modified February 5, 2006, 01:23:11]