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Gators Extend Win Streak Against Kentucky To 7

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By JENNA MARINA, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 20, 2008

GAINESVILLE - After 2 hours and 20 minutes of play, it all came down to 5 minutes.

Kentucky battled back from a 10-point deficit in the second half against the Gators to send Saturday night's game into overtime after Wildcats guard Ramel Bradley hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

The possession was controversial after a dead ball was originally called Florida's way but the officials overruled the call, giving Kentucky the ball near its own baseline.

"That was crazy," Florida forward Marreese Speights said. "It was way off Patrick Patterson. It was ESPN. They wanted to continue the game."

Florida refused to yield on its home court, and junior Walter Hodge sealed the game with a 3-point shot of his own.

The Gators pulled out an 81-70 victory, giving Florida its seventh consecutive victory against Kentucky to match Notre Dame as the only school ever to do so.

"This is what basketball players dream for," Gators freshman Nick Calathes said of the overtime win. "We know we can finish it out at the end of games."

The fans didn't care that Kentucky (7-9, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) isn't the conference king, or that Florida (16-3, 4-1) is rebuilding its entire team.

Not even a snowed-in Atlanta airport could keep former Gators forward Al Horford from attending the game. The Hawks rookie drove from Atlanta after his 2 p.m. practice to be in Gainesville. He said he had to leave immediately after the game to make his 10 a.m. practice back in Atlanta today.

The orange-and-blue crowd got a show as the lead changed hands eight times and it was tied another eight times.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Gators emerged with a five-point lead at the break. Florida jumped out with an 8-2 run in the second half but struggled to hold its lead.

With nearly 9 minutes left in the half, Kentucky's Jodie Meeks hit two free throws to tie the game at 46.

Fouls turned out to be a problem for both teams. Kentucky picked up seven team fouls in the first five minutes of the second half.

Kentucky's Perry Stevenson fouled out with 6:01 left to go in regulation and Florida's Dan Werner soon followed, fouling out with 3:59 left. Meeks also fouled out, and both teams' big men, Speights and Patterson, picked up four fouls each.

Even in foul trouble, Speights managed to put together a better performance than he has all SEC season. Speights entered Saturday averaging 8 points and 7.3 rebounds in SEC play, but came out electrified. By the half, he had already tallied nine points and five boards, and finished the game with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Speights said Florida coach Billy Donovan talked to him prior to the game, which motivated the sophomore to play well.

"I feel like this was my best game ever," Speights said.

In the first half, the Gators had limited Patterson to 2-for-7 and four rebounds, but he ended up with 14 points and six rebounds.

Calathes once again put together a commanding performance. He tallied 24 points, 13 of which came off his 17 free-throw attempts. He also had eight rebounds and eight assists.

"I'm really proud of our guys," Donovan said in a radio interview after the game. "I feel like we battled and we fought, and we had a chance to grow up."

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