Oweh’s 28 points not enough as Kentucky falls to No. 5 Florida on Senior Day

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — The Kentucky Wildcats fell to the No. 5 Florida Gators, 84-77, on Senior Day at Rupp Arena. The win gave Florida a season sweep over Kentucky.

Florida opened the game on an 11-0 run, going 4-for-4 from the field (2-for-2 from three-point range) and forcing an early Kentucky timeout.

Kentucky later chipped away at the Gators’ lead. The Wildcats responded with a 19-9 run of their own, cutting the deficit to 20-19. Florida answered with a 13-0 run, extending its lead to double digits, where it remained for the rest of the first half.

Florida led 49-32 at halftime.

The margin stayed between 10 and 17 points throughout most of the second half before Kentucky cut the deficit to single digits with 2:30 remaining.

The Wildcats were able to trim the deficit to as few as five points but could never quite catch the Gators, resulting in a seven-point loss.

Kentucky was led by Otega Oweh, who scored a game-high 28 points on his Senior Day in the loss.

Oweh was joined in double figures by Denzel Aberdeen (15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Mo Dioubate (10 points, 6 rebounds).

All five Florida starters finished in double figures, led by Thomas Haugh with 20 points.

Florida never trailed in the game and enters the SEC Tournament on an 11-game winning streak.

Kentucky finishes the regular season 19-12 (10-8 SEC), while Florida ends the year 25-6 (16-2 SEC).

The Wildcats now turn their attention to Nashville and the SEC Tournament, where they will play on Wednesday (opening day) for the first time in program history as either the No. 9 or No. 10 seed.

The full bracket and matchups will be released later Saturday evening.