Eric Bledsoe scores 25, helps No. 2 Kentucky stay perfect with 89-77 victory at Florida

Bledsoe scores 25, helps No. 2 Cats stay unbeaten

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Eric Bledsoe scored a career-high 25 points, Patrick Patterson added 15 and No. 2 Kentucky stayed unbeaten with an 89-77 victory over Florida on Tuesday night.

John Wall chipped in 19, including the team’s final seven points.

The Wildcats (17-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) ended the game with a 17-5 run and snapped a five-game losing streak in Gainesville.

Erving Walker led Florida with 20 points, and Alex Tyus added 17 points. But the Gators (11-5, 0-2) are off to their worst start in conference play since 1996 — the year before coach Billy Donovan took over.

Florida made this one close in the second half.

Kentucky built a 55-40 lead, but couldn’t close it out — something that’s starting to become a trend for coach John Calipari’s team.

Kentucky watched a double-digit lead slip away Saturday against Georgia. This time, Walker did most of the damage. He hit two 3-pointers and two free throws, then Kenny Boynton got loose on a fast break that whittled Kentucky’s lead to 61-54 with about 12 minutes to play. Clearly feeling it, Walker hit two more 3s — on consecutive possessions — a few minutes later. Vernon Macklin rattled home a layup that made it 68-66 with 7:59 remaining.

The Gators tied the game at 72 on Macklin’s putback with 5:13 left.

Patterson put the Cats back ahead with a turnaround jumper in the lane. He failed to convert the three-point play, but DeMarcus Cousins gathered the rebound. Darnell Dodson then hit a 3. Bledsoe added to the pain with another 3 on the next possession that put Kentucky ahead 80-73 with 3:58 to play.

The Gators never recovered.

Kentucky shot 51 percent from the field and made 7 of 18 from 3-point range. Florida was much less effective. Donovan’s squad shot 38 percent from the floor and hit 8 of 27 from behind the arc. The Gators struggled even more on the defensive end.

Bledsoe, Wall and Patterson proved tough matchups. Bledsoe was 10 of 13 shooting and added seven rebounds and five assists. Wall missed six of seven shots from 3-point range, but made up for it with several fast breaks and six assists. Patterson was 7 of 11 shooting and had seven boards.

Kentucky dominated the first half after Florida scored the first seven points. Macklin dropped in a hook shot in the lane, Boynton made a layup and then Tyus drained the first 3-pointer of his career. It was all Kentucky the rest of the way.

The Wildcats scored at will in the paint, were bigger and faster on the perimeter, and would have had a double-digit lead if not for a few improbable shots from the Gators. Tyus, who had taken just one 3 in his first 87 college games, hit another one from behind the arc and then Boynton banked in a 3.

Florida shot just 30 percent from the field and was 3 of 13 from 3-point range. Kentucky had a much easier time. Wall and Bledsoe blew by Florida’s backcourt at will, and Florida’s frontcourt was no match for Patterson and Cousins down low.

Patterson and Cousins missed several shots from point-blank range, allowing the Gators to keep it close early.

Donovan said Monday that his team would have matchup problems against a Kentucky roster that could have players become NBA lottery picks this summer.

Donovan had hoped the Gators could force Kentucky’s young backcourt — Wall and Bledsoe are freshmen; Darius Miller is a sophomore — into turnovers with a relentless press. It didn’t pan out like planned.

Wall and Bledsoe dribbled by Walker and Boynton with relative ease, driving the ball into the paint for short jumpers, dishing to big men for easy baskets or kicking out to open 3-point shooters. Kentucky finished with just 10 turnovers.

The nationally televised game drew plenty of interest. Florida football coach Urban Meyer and his wife, Shelley, watched the first half. Meyer, who is taking a leave of absence, spent several minutes chatting with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who had courtside seats.

And the Wildcats had fans scattered throughout the O’Connell Center, a large contingent even by Big Blue standards.