LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky and Florida lived up to the pregame hype in their Top 10 matchup Saturday to open SEC play.

In a game of constant runs, the No. 10 Wildcats outlasted the previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked Gators 106-100 in front of a raucous crowd at Rupp Arena.

Grad senior wing Koby Brea came off the UK bench to score a team-high 23 points, including a career-high seven made 3-pointers on nine attempts to lead six Cats in double-figures.

"How fun is it to watch Koby Brea?" Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said. "... He was magical tonight, wasn't he? You are hard-pressed to make a cogent argument that he's not the best shooter in country. It's ridiculous."

Kentucky (12-2, 1-0) SEC also got 19 points and eight assists from grad senior point guard Lamont Butler, followed by Otega Oweh (16), Amari Williams (15), Jaxson Robinson (14), and Andrew Carr (14).

The Cats shot 58% from the field, made 14 of 29 from beyond the arc, and recorded a 25:6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

"Credit to Kentucky. I thought every time we made a run and had a little momentum, they stepped up and made some big-time winning plays, big shots," Florida head coach Todd Golden said. "... They will not lose many games if they play this efficiently."

It marked the third Top-10 victory of the season for UK, who had previously defeated No. 6 Duke and No. 7 Gonzaga.

Early on, that didn't look likely.

Florida (13-1, 0-1 SEC) jumped out to an 11-point lead in the first half on the strength of its rebounding dominance, which kept it in the game all day long. The Gators won the battle on the glass 38-30 and outscored UK 31-12 in second-chance points.

But the Cats engineered a 16-0 run to get back in the game, including 10 points from Oweh, to help take a 52-42 lead at halftime.

The Gators trailed by 11 with just over nine minutes to play, but clawed within two at the 4:16 mark.

Kentucky responded with five straight points by Butler, a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, to push the lead back to seven.

Florida got no closer than four the rest of the way. A Carr 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:30 to play essentially sealed the Gators' fate. The Cats hit seven straight free throws to ice the win.

Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 33 points to lead the Gators, who also got 26 from backcourt mate Alijah Martin. Florida big men Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu combined for 19 points and 18 rebounds.

"Ridiculous offense, actually," Pope said of both teams' scoring output. "... Epic performances on both sides, and it was not from a lack of defense, trust me. Just to put it in perspective, over the last six game, analytically, (Florida) is the best halfcourt defense in the entire country. This was not bad defense. This was two teams playing at an elite level.

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...

KEY MOMENT:

There were many key plays made down the stretch in today's game, but arguably the most important time came after Kentucky fell behind 26-15 with 11:13 remaining in the first half. Florida looked like the more confident club at that time, but the Cats responded with a massive 16-0 run that started with a Koby Brea 3-pointer and ended with an Otega Oweh 3-pointer. Oweh had 10 of his 16 points during the run.

GAME BALL:

Koby Brea, Kentucky -- The player Mark Pope refers to as"the greatest shooter in America" lived up to the billing, coming off the bench to knock down seven of his nine 3-point attempts en route to a team-high 23 points. It marked a new career high for treys made in a game by the grad senior wing.

BY THE NUMBERS:

0 - Wins by SEC opponents when entering Rupp Arena with a record of 12-0 or better. Saturday was the fourth such instance and the first since Vanderbilt in 2008.

2nd - Most points scored by Kentucky in a game against Florida. Dan Issel's Cats scored 110 against the Gators on Feb. 14, 1970.

7 - Three-pointers by Kentucky's Koby Brea was the second-most ever for a Wildcat player against Florida. Cameron Mills (February 1st, 1998)and Jamal Murray (February 6th, 2016) each had eight.

11 - Both teams held 11-point leads at one point in the game.

13 - Missed free throws by Florida, which got to the stripe 35 times in the game compared to just 24 for UK.

111-42 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series with Florida, including a 56-12 mark in Lexington.

21,093 - Attendance at Rupp Arena.

QUOTABLE:

"You guys reminded me of what this place used to feel like in the 90s. BBN was incredible today. You guys were magical." -- UK head coach Mark Pope on the atmosphere at Rupp Arena.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at Georgia. The Bulldogs (12-2, 0-1 SEC) lost 63-51 today at No. 24 Ole Miss.