Florida’s hopes of victory seemed to be slipping away after a putback layup by sophomore forward Ugonna Onyenso put Kentucky up by four points with 37 seconds left.
However, much like they did throughout the entire second half, the Gators responded.
UF capitalized on a missed free throw by freshman guard Rob Dillingham. With 5 seconds left on the clock Florida junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. put up a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net and sent the game into overtime.
The tightly contested matchup carried much of the same theme heading into overtime. Three lead changes in the first three-plus minutes of the period allowed neither team to pull away.
Much like he did throughout regulation, Clayton Jr. hit a clutch 3-pointer to give his team an 89-87 edge with 1:42 left in overtime.
He sealed the victory for the Gators after extending UF’s lead to seven with 16 seconds left on the clock.
The Florida Gators men’s basketball team (15-6, 5-3 SEC) defeated the Kentucky Wildcats (15-5, 5-3 SEC) 94-91 in a thrilling overtime victory at Rupp Arena, Wednesday.
Florida came into a hostile environment in Lexington with a chance to make a statement with its first quadrant I victory of the season against the Wildcats. The Gators did just that as the team came away with their first road win against a top-10 team for the first time since 2003.
Three turnovers in the first three-plus minutes of play halted the Gators offensive production. The team opened the game just 2-for-6 from the field and trailed 8-3 at the 16:29 mark.
The Gators kept their head above water heading into the first media timeout with a pair of 3-pointers from Clayton Jr. and junior guard Will Richard when they found the bottom of the net.
Kentucky’s fast-paced offense put pressure on the Gators to retreat back on defense quickly to open the game. However, UF responded by forcing two turnovers on the Wildcats freshman guard Reed Sheppard.
A 6-0 run led by freshman forward Alex Condon and sophomore guard Riley Kugel provided instant offense from Florida’s bench. The offensive spark gave the Gators their first lead of the matchup at 14-12 with 12:40 left in the half.
It was a tightly contested matchup midway through the first half. Eight lead changes over three-plus minutes of play allowed neither team to gain much of an edge.
Kentucky’s backcourt was a problem the Gators couldn’t solve in the first half. Freshman Antonio Reeves, Sheppard and Dillingham combined for 27 points in the opening 20 minutes.
A 6-0 run led by Sheppard consisted of a 3-pointer and a layup off a turnover that sent Rupp Arena into a frenzy and gave the Wildcats a 34-28 lead at the 3:29 mark.
As the Gators desperately needed to stop the bleeding, their offense went ice cold.
The team shot 0-for-7 over a six-plus minute stretch until graduate student guard Zyon Pullin banged a much needed 3-pointer from the right wing.
Despite shooting 36% from the field through the first 20 minutes, UF made 7-of-9 free throws and Richard capped off the half with a fastbreak layup as the Gators trailed 41-36 heading into the break.
Graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel had a team high of eight points at the half to lead a balanced offensive attack for Florida.
Despite the fourteen lead changes in the opening half, the Wildcats held a 39-29 at the 2:16 left in the period.
Though, a 5-0 Gators run to close the half gave Florida head coach Todd Golden’s squad a glimpse of hope.
Florida’s offense came out firing in the second half with another 5-0 run sparked by three-straight points from Pullin and a 3-pointer from Richard to regain the lead 42-41.
Kentucky wouldn’t back down without a fight. The Wildcats made seven of their first nine shot attempts capped off by a pull up jumper by Dillingham to regain the lead 60-58.
Neither team gained much of an edge as the second half opened. Kentucky’s largest lead at the 11:52 mark was the five-point advantage it held coming out of the break.
The score was knotted at 60 after Condon calmly stepped to the charity stripe to knock down a pair of free throws.
However, Sheppard continued the hot hand in the second half. He responded on the next possession with a go-ahead 3-pointer to regain the lead with 11:43 left in the game.
As the two teams traded blows, the Gators desperately needed to slow down the Kentucky backcourt. The Wildcats lead grew to 70-66 as the momentum started to swing.
Clayton Jr. was in the zone from the 3-point range all night long. The junior made his fifth 3-point attempt at a timely moment and put his team ahead 71-70 at the 7:17 mark to follow Handlogten’s bucket.
The Gators pulled away in the overtime period largely in part to the elite performance from Florida’s backcourt.
Clayton Jr. finished with a team-high of 23 points while knocking down seven 3-pointers. Pullin followed his lead posting 21 points and an efficient 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
Samuel made his presence felt down low with a 22-point 13-rebound double double in the victory.
Despite only leading for a total of 8:32, the Gators were able to escape with a historic win for the program. The victory marks just the sixth time in program history a Gators squad has knocked off a top-10 team on the road.
Florida will continue its road SEC slate as the team takes on Texas A&M on Saturday. Tip-off will be at 4 p.m. in College Station, Texas. The game will be aired on ESPN.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @MaxTuckerUF25.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
