LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- Head Coach Mark Pope wins his first ever SEC game at the helm of Kentucky men’s basketball by coming from behind to beat Florida 106-100 at Rupp Arena on Saturday. The conference opener for both teams saw over 200 points scored and a dramatic change in momentum. The Comeback Florida asserted themselves early while Kentucky started slow and had trouble on the boards. The Gators outrebounded the Cats 21-18 in the first half. With the Wildcats in a 26-15 hole midway through the first half, Pope’s team went on a 16-0 scoring run as a Koby Brea three pointer started the surge. But, it was Mr. Reliable, Otega Oweh, who contributed ten points to the onslaught as Kentucky claimed the lead for the first time. UK had a ten point, 52-42 lead at halftime and never looked back. “Sometimes we were not great, but these guys have so much fight in them and so much resilience,” said Pope. “It’s a really fun team to coach.” The Career High Koby Brea went 7/9 from behind the arc and tallied a career-high 23 points versus the Gators. He was 3/4 from field goal and three point ranges in the second half as Kentucky needed stability to keep the Gators at arm’s length. After the game, Brea said that his ability to knock down shots gets his teammates open for their own chances to shoot. “We just have good players on this team,” said Brea. “It was Otega and me tonight, but any night could by anybody.” The Crowd Rupp Arena was rowdy during several moments versus the Gators. Big Blue Nation came to life after Amari Williams’ slam dunk in the first half that was the precursor to the 16-0 barrage from the Cats. Several more moments got the crowd on its feet, but the cherry on top was Andrew Carr’s wide open corner three pointer that all but guaranteed victory for UK. From then to the final seconds, postgame celebrations and Pope’s radio show, the crowd knew it had witnessed one for the history books. Kentucky’s team knew it too. “It was crazy. I think Koby deserves the love, he was hot tonight,” said Lamont Butler. “BBN was ridiculous tonight,” said Pope. “How fun was it to be in that gym?” Categories: Featured, More Sports, Solid Blue, Sports Tags: Basketball, BBN, brea, florida, Kentucky, Mark Pope, oweh, SEC, Wildcats