Immanuel Quickley scored 22 of his career-high 26 points in the second half to help No. 10 Kentucky win its sixth straight game, a 65-59 victory against Southeastern Conference rival Florida on Saturday at Lexington, Ky.
Sophomore Quickley hit 8 of 17 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point territory, for the SEC-leading Wildcats (22-5, 12-2). Tyrese Maxey added 13 points.
Keyontae Johnson scored 19 points with nine rebounds and Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 18 points for the Gators (17-10, 9-5), who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Florida missed 11 of 13 field-goal tries -- including eight straight errant shots -- between the 12:11 and 1:21 marks to hurt its comeback attempt.
With 19.1 seconds remaining, Florida's Scottie Lewis was fouled by Ashton Hagans after making a steal. Lewis missed his free throw but tipped in the rebound to cut the Gators' deficit to 61-59.
After Maxey sank two free throws with 11 seconds left, Andrew Nembhard (four points) lost the ball on the ensuing possession. That led to Quickley's two foul shots for the final points with 1.9 seconds on the clock.
With Kentucky trailing 44-41, Quickley nailed three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Wildcats a six-point lead that energized the Rupp Arena crowd and forced Florida to call timeout with 11:13 left.
Nick Richards' dunk made it an 11-0 run to build a 52-44 advantage with 9:36 showing.
Blackshear's five points (layup and three-point play) helped Florida open the second half with a 9-2 run to go ahead by seven points with 17:05 remaining. Kentucky then scored the next eight points -- including two three-point plays by Quickley -- to take a 42-41 edge with 14:49 to go.
Ques Gover's buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half tied the score at 31.
Johnson had 11 points at the half for the Gators, who sank 5 of 14 behind the arc in the half. Kentucky attempted just four 3-pointers, hitting one.
The Wildcats, who outscored Florida in the paint 20-8 during the first 20 minutes, held the first half's largest lead twice, at 8-2 and 14-8.
The teams will meet gain in the regular-season finale on March 7 at Florida.
--Field Level Media
