Kentucky Wildcats vs Florida Gators Box Score on Feb 02, 2019

Down 11 points on the road in the second half, No. 7 Kentucky stayed together and got back to its grinding, defensive style on Saturday.

Freshman guard Tyler Herro scored 19 points and was among three Wildcats in double figures, lifting Kentucky to a 65-54 win over the Florida Gators at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.

Sophomore forward P.J. Washington added 15 points and 12 rebounds and freshman guard Keldon Johnson scored 10 points, allowing Kentucky (18-3, 7-1 SEC) to rally from down 42-31 early in the second half and pick up its eighth straight win.

Kentucky held an opponent under 55 points for the fifth time during its current eight-game win streak. The Wildcats held the Gators to 34.9 percent shooting from the field, including 27.3 percent from the field in the second half.

Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard led the Gators (12-9, 4-4 SEC) with 12 points and three assists. Senior guard KeVaughn Allen added 11 points while senior guard Jalen Hudson had 11 points off the bench. Florida was unable to overcome an off-shooting day, going 5 of 19 from 3-point range.

Down 42-31, Kentucky clawed its way back with a 10-0 run, cutting Florida's lead to 42-41. Then, with the Gators up 48-43 after a driving Allen layup, Kentucky took control of the game with a 14-0 run down the stretch.

A 3-pointer by Johnson with 4:58 remaining gave Kentucky its first second-half lead, 50-48. Senior forward Reid Travis followed with a dunk, then Herro sank a 3-pointer from the right corner with 2:52 left to give Kentucky a 55-48 lead, and the Wildcats remained in front the rest of the way.

Florida shot 43.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range (4 of 10) to build a 33-29 halftime lead. Nembhard scored 10 first-half points, going 4 of 6 from the field and 2 of 2 from 3-point range.

After Nembhard's jump shot put Florida up 29-26, Johnson made two free throws and Hudson sank a driving bank shot, putting the Gators up by seven. Kentucky's Immanuel Quickley made a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left in the first half, cutting Florida's lead to 33-29 at halftime.

--Field Level Media