LEXINGTON, Ky. - Nick Calathes did all he could Tuesday night.
It wasn't enough.
Despite scoring a career-high 33 points, Calathes and UF (19-5, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) fell 68-65 to Kentucky (17-7, 6-3 SEC) in Rupp Arena.
Kentucky's Jodie Meeks dazzled the Lexington crowd with 23 points and the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds to play.
"He just made some great shots," UF Center Alex Tyus said. "Sometimes there's nothing you can do about that."
With the Gators up 64-63 and 1:17 left on the clock, forward Dan Werner missed a three that led to Meeks getting fouled in transition.
He made both foul shots and put the Wildcats up 65-64.
Werner was fouled on the next possession and tied the game at 65 after making one of his two shots from the line.
With 4.7 seconds left, Meeks hit a three from the left shoulder of the court while being guarded closely by Calathes to put Kentucky on top 68-65.
Calathes was fouled taking a desperation three with 0.6 seconds left but missed all three shots.
"I feel like I let the team down," Calathes said.
Tyus had confidence in his point guard to knock down the free throws and extend the game.
"I thought he was going to make those shots," Tyus said. "I was ready to go to overtime."
In the first half, UF forward Chandler Parsons was sent to the bench after picking up two fouls with 12:51 to play.
With Parsons out of the game, it was up to Calathes to shoulder the offensive burden.
The sophomore rose to the challenge, scoring 18 in the first half.
After leading early on, the Gators allowed the Wildcats to go on an 18-4 run that gave them a 24-18 lead with 4:44 left in the first half.
With less than a minute to play in the opening period, Calathes knocked down a three that cut the Kentucky lead to 2.
He was fouled on the next possession and made both foul shots to tie the game at 30 heading into halftime.
The Gators opened the second half strong, jumping out to a 36-34 lead when senior Walter Hodge was given a flagrant technical foul and ejected from the game. He stepped on the right arm of Kentucky's Perry Stevenson.
"I don't think (Hodge) kicked him," Calathes said. "He's not the kind of player who would do that."
The Wildcats fought their way to a 50-47 lead with 9:06 to play in the game when Kentucky big man Patrick Patterson went down with an ankle injury after fouling UF freshman Kenny Kadji.
Patterson finished with 7 points and eight rebounds.
With Patterson out of the game, things opened up for Tyus, who scored 14 points.
