Cats reach century mark for fifth time this season, top Gators in SEC opener

LEXINGTON, Ky. (KT) — Kentucky dropped Florida from the ranks of the unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference opener Saturday.

The 10th-ranked Wildcats handed the sixth-ranked Gators their first loss of the season, hitting the century mark for the fifth time this year in a 106-100 triumph over Florida. Kentucky improved to 3-0 against teams ranked in the AP top 10 this season and gave coach Mark Pope his first conference victory as coach of the Wildcats.

“That was just an elite-level of physicality — competitive, just incredible performance after incredible performance going down the line,” Pope said afterward. “(It was) a great game. How fun is this SEC league going to be?”

The league opener wasn’t enjoyable early for Pope’s squad as the Wildcats struggled from the field and missed eight of their first 10 shots from the field, including their first three shots from long range,

Florida (13-1) built an 11-point lead before the Wildcats broke loose and went on a monstrous 16-0 run to take the lead for good. Otega Oweh scored 10 points during the blitz that blossomed into a 21-3 scoring spree that turned the double-digit deficit into a 36-29 lead. Kentucky scored 12 of the last 14 points of the first half and led 52-42 at the break.

Oweh’s spark wasn’t a surprise to Pope, especially considering Oweh's early exit to the bench and his lackluster first-half performance against Brown earlier this week.

“He's just the most soft-spoken guy ever, but he has a competitive fire in him that burns really, really deep,” Pope said. “What he's doing this season is just incredible.”

The Gators narrowed the margin to two down the stretch, but Kentucky made two of its 14 3-pointers, including a clincher by Andrew Carr in the final four minutes and made seven of eight free throws in the final minute to hold off the Gators.

“I thought every time he made a run and had a little momentum, I thought they stepped up and made some really big-time winning plays, big shots,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “(They) just kept us at bay in those moments.”

Koby Brea led six players in double figures with a career-high 23 points and connected on seven 3-pointers, also a career-best for the smooth-shooting guard.

“How fun is it to watch Kobe bring it in the second half?” Pope said. “What was he six for? Seven? Something crazy like that. … it's ridiculous the way he shoots it, how he gets it off, where he shoots it, how he shoots it. Clearly, he was massively important for us. He was also another huge catalyst in those runs (we had).”

Brea credited the coaching staff for its ability to dissect Florida’s defense, which led to 14 3-pointers and 44 points in the paint.

“I think the coaches did a really good job just showing us how they were going to guard us and how we're going to be able to get some shots,” Brea said. “I think just sticking to the game plan and really just everything that we did in practice we did today and it worked out pretty well.”

Lamont Butler followed Brea with 19 points, Oweh scored 16, Amari Williams scored 15, while Carr and Jaxon Robinson contributed with 14 points each. Robinson eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career on a 3-pointer early in the second half.

NEXT GAME: Kentucky at Georgia, 7 p.m., Tuesday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network.