Koby Brea came off the bench to tally 23 points and seven 3-pointers, both career highs, as No. 10 Kentucky opened Southeastern Conference play by outlasting No. 6 Florida 106-100 on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.
The fifth-year guard was one of six to score in double figures for the Wildcats (12-2, 1-0 SEC), who shot 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the 3-point line and 57.8 percent overall. Lamont Butler added 19 points and a career-high eight assists and Otega Oweh finished with 16 points for Kentucky.
Walter Clayton Jr. tied a career high with 33 points to lead the Gators (13-1, 0-1), who also got 26 from Alijah Martin. Saturday marked just the fourth time Florida lost a game despite scoring at least 100 points.
The Gators scored seven straight points to cut their deficit to 89-87 with 4:16 left, with Clayton scoring five of his 23 second-half points during the flurry. Butler followed with the next five points for the Wildcats and Florida never got back within four the rest of the way.