SEC Tournament highlights as Florida beats Kentucky in quarterfinals

Xaivian Lee made one of two free throws, making it a nine-point game with 40 seconds left. Jasper Johnson missed the 3-point attempt, but stole the ball from Lee for a transition dunk. With only 12 seconds remaining, Mouhamed Dioubate had to foul, his fifth and final of the day. Boogie Fland missed both shots, but Lee grabbed the rebound to seal the win. He made both free throws, and all Kentucky could do was take a meaningless 3 as the buzzer signaled the end of the game.

Todd Golden was right to ask for a review. Chandler stuck his leg out in a non-shooting motion, but the officials declined to withdraw the foul. Chandler made all three free throws. Fland was called for an offensive foul, and Haugh fouled Denzel Aberdeen for two more free throws. It’s a six-point game with under three to play.

Fland had the ball knocked away on the next Florida possession, but the ball stayed with the Gators. Haugh crashed the lane, drawing a foul to stop the 8-0 run by Kentucky. More importantly, it knocked Chandler out of the game with his fifth foul.

Chinyelu blocked Otega Oweh, but Kentucky retained possession. Aberdeen crashed the lane back at Chinyelu for a basket. Fland missed his jumper but reeled in his own rebound and dished it to Haugh, who hit a turnaround jumper. Haugh might be 2-for-9, but he made the one that mattered. Jasper Johnson was on the ground with an injury that the officials reviewed, but it was more of a flop than a foul.

Aberdeen buried a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to five. Lee answered with his own deep 3 at the 5-second mark. Lee ripped it from Aberdeen and drew a foul. That may do it.

Urban Klavzar made a pair of free throws on a quick foul out of the break. Trent Noah missed another 3-pointer. Kentucky has missed some wide-open shots today, which has made things easy for Florida. Haugh came up with the rebound, but a tie-up on the floor gave the ball to Kentucky, which had the possession arrow. The Wildcats took another wide-open 3. This one went through the net, but a moving screen from Garrison erased it.

Haugh missed the first free throw, but Oweh was called for a technical foul. Lee shot those, making one of two, and Haugh drained the second free-throw attempt after that. Florida still has the lead, but the Gators haven’t made a field goal in nearly eight minutes.

Aberdeen drew a foul on Chinyelu at the other end, but he only made one of two. Chinyelu tried to make amends by scoring in the paint, but he missed and fouled looking to corral the offensive rebound. Condon turned it over, losing the ball out of bounds, and Dioubate missed a three-pointer. Condon missed as well, but Chinyelu got the rebound this time and finished with a hook shot.

Aberdeen made a 3-pointer to keep it an 11-point game, and Florida failed to score on the next possession despite two offensive rebounds. Chinyelu missed twice, and Condon couldn’t get the tip-in to go. Lee was called for a 3-point foul, but the officials are reviewing it during the timeout.

Condon was whistled after Micah Handlogten threw the ball away. Brandon Garrison made one of two free throws for Kentucky, and Handlogten grabbed the board to make amends. Haugh missed another 3-pointer. It just isn’t his day, shooting-wise. Klavzar got the offensive rebound, but the refs blew the ball dead to fix the clock.

Fland tried a midrange jump from the top of the key, but to no avail. Noah couldn’t hit a 3 for Kentucky, but he forced a steal off Fland and found Oweh on the other end for a transition dunk.

Todd Golden called a 30-second timeout to regroup.

Lee found Condon under the hoop for a quick opportunity, but he was fouled and missed the first of two free throws. Still, there’s something to be said for the obvious chemistry between the two.

There was a brief tie-up between Chinyelu and Dioubate. Officials went to review it and gave both players Class A technical fouls that offset. Haugh fouled Moreno in the paint on the ensuing possession, leading to two made free throws.

Chinyelu and Diabate tangled again. Chinyelu set a screen, and Diabate was called for a fourth foul. Haugh missed a wide-open 3. It hasn’t been his day so far. Florida got the deadball rebound, though, and Bron made both free throws after taking the foul from Oweh.

Klavzar reached for a foul, but Chinyelu produced the clean block on Oweh. Haugh grabbed the rebound and Oweh swiped at him too aggressively for a frustration foul. Florida’s in the bonus, which means another two points from the free-throw line for Haugh.

Aberdeen found Andrija Jelavic under the hoop for a mismatched layup, and Condon traveled after being stuffed by some good defense from Chandler, who made the 3 on the other end.

The two remained the focus on the next possession, as Chandler went over the top of Condon looking for a block and fell on him. Chandler got tangled up with Condon’s ankles and brought him down. No one was seriously injured, but it could have been a lot worse for both of them. Condon made both free throws.

Both teams missed shots, and Kentucky turned it over on a Haugh steal before the 8-minute media timeout.

Florida lost the ball out of the timeout, but some fervent defense forced a shot-clock violation on Kentucky. Handlogten turned it over on an offensive foul, but Kentucky couldn’t capitalize. Oweh missed again, but Klavzar and Fland couldn’t make good despite Condon grabbing the offensive board. Haugh got a second offensive rebound to extend the possession, though, and went up to draw a foul. He made both free throws.

Lee cut off the pass from Aberdeen like a free safety and went right down the court to find Brown under the basket for a reverse layup. Kentucky responded with a second-chance dunk by Malchi Moreno. Aberdeen slammed it in transition after a bad pass turnover from Condon following a missed 3-pointer from Brown. Mark Pope frantically called a timeout to slow Florida’s offense and preserve Kentucky’ momentum.

Both teams came out of the break cold. Aberdeen and Fland traded misses, and Lee turned it over after a missed three from Jelavic. Aberdeen missed again, and Lee couldn’t get a three-pointer to sink. That’s five straight misses to start the half.

Chinyelu lost the ball, leading to Kentucky’s first basket of the half from Oweh, a transition alley-up. Condon got hacked on the other hand and made both free throws. Oweh missed from the top of the key, and Haugh drew a foul looking to drive the lane. Condon took over from the far corner and worked his way into the paint for a hookshot and two points.

Fland got called for a foul while double-teaming with Lee. Oweh missed a fadeaway jumper in the post, and Condon grabbed his seventh rebound. Fland missed another three-pointer, and Florida has just one made field goal through four minutes in the second half.

Chandler missed a three-pointer for Kentucky, leading to a transition opportunity for Florida. Lee found Condon on the other end for an alley-oop. The duo connected again for a transition dunk after Doubate made the second Kentucky basket of the half. Oweh lost the ball out of bounds, giving Florida possession and leading us to the first media timeout of the second half.

Aberdeen missed a layup coming out of the timeout, but Brown missed a corner three for Florida while looking to start another run. Oweh missed a jumper, but Kentucky got a rare offensive rebound. Chinyelu fouled Garrison in the paint, and the Wildcat made both free throws. Garrison continued his reign of terror with a block on Brown — it wasn’t close.

Dioubate got the ball on the fastbreak and made an and-1 thanks to a goaltending call. Fortunately, Dioubate missed the free throw. Condon got physical in the paint, drawing the shooting foul, but Chandler got the worst end of it, crashing to the floor with a bloody nose. The officials reviewed for a possible flagrant foul, but Condon made contact without malice. Wrong place, wrong time for Chandler on that play. Condon made one of two free throws.

Dioubate crashed the glass as the shot clock wound down, but he couldn’t get a good look. Garrison backed Haugh on the baseline at the other end of the court, but he reached and fouled as Haugh chucked it to the top of the arc. A sloppy foul from Kentucky. Florida is in the bonus, so Condon got free throws. He made one of two.

Aberdeen and Oweh missed three-pointers on the other end. Lee came down with the uncontested rebound. His pass to COndon in transition got tipped, but the Florida big man corralled it and slammed it for a reverse dunk after faking out a defender.

Handlogten was whistled for a foul on Aberdeen, who made both free throws. Florida ran the clock down but didn’t get a good look. Fland passed it too late to Lee, who was going up for the shot when the shot clock expired. Kentucky couldn’t do anything but throw it off the glass with two seconds remaining in the half.

Haugh came out of the break with some energy, driving the hole and making an easy layup. Oweh missed another three-pointer — he’s struggling right now — and Handlogten grabbed the rebound. Condon worked the post again but was fouled before he could put up a shot. That benefited Kentucky as Denzel Aberdeen ripped the ball from Kalvzar, who was looking to drive.

Chandler tried to swing the momentum in favor of Kentucky with a dunk, but Condon denied it. The ball went off Chandler’s head and out of bounds, which Todd Golden challenged to make sure his team had the ball. Unfortunately, Klavzar couldn’t get a good look from three and missed the rim entirely, leading to a shot-clock turnover.

Aberdeen and Klavzar missed threes, but Handlogten got the offensive rebound for Florida. He dished it back out to Klavzar for another missed three, but Handlogten bounced off the floor and back into position for another offensive board. This time, he slammed it for a putback dunk.

Kentucky missed another three-pointer, and Fland made the second of two attempts from deep to extend the run to 13-0 over the last five minutes. Aberdeen finally got Kentucky a bucket with a layup.

Florida called a timeout, but it didn’t calm things down. Haugh missed a three-pointer, and Jasper Johnson tied it up at 20 with a driving layup for Kentucky. Fland kept Florida in front with back-to-back jumpers, sandwiching a missed three-point attempt by Johnson.

Andrija Jelavic missed a jumper, and Chinyelu grabbed his first rebound of the day. Jelavic’s struggles continued with a foul on Haugh on the other end of the court. Haugh made both free throws.

Then came a string of five missed shots between both teams. Oweh missed first, then Condon got blocked by Brandon Garrison. Garrison tried to score on the fastbreak, but he completely missed the layup while dodging Florida’s players in the paint. Fland missed a three-pointer, and Oweh missed again. Chinyelu grabbed his second board of the day, and a media timeout put a merciful stop to some ugly ball from both teams.

Kentucky challenged an out-of-bounds call that kept the ball with Florida, but the referees upheld the call. Isaiah Brown missed a three-pointer, but Condon went over the top of his box-out for an offensive rebound. Florida has four offensive rebounds on six misses so far.

Urban Klavzar made good on the second-chance opportunity with a jumper. Kentucky missed another three-pointer, and Handlogten gave a hip check to Williams as the ball went out of bounds. No foul was called despite Kentucky’s bench protesting.

Kentucky got the foul call on Condon just after that, making both free throws. Klavzar responded with another bucket in the paint, and Dioubate scored a three-pointer.

Lee turned the ball over, leading to a dunk from Otega, cutting Florida’s lead to five, and Owrh drained another Kentucky three to pull within two.

Oweh hit a mid-range jumper for Kentucky’s second basket, but Chinyelyu responded with some easy post work for a bucket off an assist from Lee. Chinyelu forced another turnover — that’s three so far — and is dominating the game on both ends of the court, going into the first media timeout of the day.

Oweh took the ball to the hole for his second score of the day. Alex Condon responded with a sweet up-and-under to answer immediately. Brandon Garrison missed a jumper for Kentucky, and Thomas Haugh grabbed the board. He got it down to Boogie Fland, who went up for a layup but decided to dump it off to Micah Handlogten for an emphatic dunk.

Chandler made a bad pass, giving Handlogten his first steal of the day. Mouhamed Dioubate was whistled for a personal foul, setting up another score in the post from Condon, who signaled, “he’s too small,” over Dioubate.

The bigs battle continued on Kentucky’s next possession, as Dioubate made an awkward hook shot in the post over Condon, prompting the same gesture.

Kentucky took the tip, but Colin Chandler bricked a wide-open three after crossing over Xaivian Lee. Rueben Chinyelu took the first shot for Florida, backing down into the post, but he couldn’t finish with the score.

After another miss from Kentucky (Otega Oweh), a held ball was called with the possession arrow in favor of Florida. Alex Condon scored the first points of the game, drawing an and-1 in the post and making the free throw. Florida hasn’t trailed in this matchup all season, and the early play keeps that streak alive.

Lee banged a three to extend a lead, and Chinyelu forced turnovers on back-to-back possessions, leading to another bucket from Lee.