LEXINGTON, Ky. - Scottie Wilbekin scored 23 points, including five critical free throws down the stretch, and No. 3 Florida rallied for a 69-59 victory over No. 14 Kentucky on Saturday night in a matchup of the Southeastern Conference’s top teams.
The Gators tied a school record with their 17th consecutive victory. It was their first victory at Rupp Arena since 2007.
Trailing 45-38 with 11:12 remaining, the veteran Gators (23-2, 12-0) turned to their best players down the stretch of their first victory at Rupp Arena since 2007. Wilbekin went 11 of 12 at the line, including two technical free throws with 8:14 left.
Casey Prather scored 24 points for Florida on 8-of-9 shooting. Patric Young added 10 points, including two three-point plays during a 13-3 spurt that put the Gators ahead for good.
Andrew Harrison scored 20 points for Kentucky (19-6, 9-3), which had won 22 consecutive home games.
Prather’s three-point playwith 38 seconds remaining helped complete Florida’s rare road sweep of Kentucky and Tennessee in the same week.
Kentucky outrebounded Florida 31-28 but couldn’t grab an errant shot at the biggest moments, especially on the offensive end. The Gators took advantage for a 12-8 edge in second-chance points but basically controlled the paint, outscoring the Wildcats 34-22.
James Young added 19 points for the Wildcats, who shot 48 percent but didn’t score in the final 1:55. Julius Randle had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
In other SEC games Saturday, Jabari Brown scored 24 points and made a last-minute play to help Missouri hold off Tennessee 75-70. ... Chris Denson scored 30 points and KT Harrell rebounded from a rough game with 26 to lead Auburn to a 92-82 victory over slumping Mississippi State. … Kenny Gaines scored 21points and Charles Mann hit the go-ahead free throw to lift Georgia past Mississippi 61-60, leaving the Bulldogs alone in third place in the SEC. … Vanderbilt’s Rod Odom started off the game 0 for 7, but hit the big shot when it mattered to force overtime as Vanderbilt rallied to beat Texas A&M 57-54. … Mindaugas Kacinas tipped in a miss with 16.6 seconds left to give South Carolina a 67-66 victory over Alabama.
SATURDAY’S GAMES Arkansas 81, LSU 70 Vanderbilt 57, Texas A&M 54, OT Auburn 92, Mississippi State 82 South Carolina 67, Alabama 66 Georgia 61, Mississippi 60 Missouri 75, Tennessee 70 Florida 69, Kentucky 59 TUESDAY’S GAMES All times Central Kentucky at Mississippi, 6 p.m.
Georgia at Tennessee, 8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Auburn at Florida, 6 p.m.
Mississippi State at LSU, 7 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Missouri, 7 p.m.
South Carolina at Arkansas, 8 p.m.
Sports, Pages 25 on 02/16/2014