LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Patrick Patterson had 27 points and 14 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season and Kentucky held off persistent Florida Atlantic 76-69 Saturday.
While the post-holiday Kentucky offense hardly resembled the one that had averaged 89 points the previous four games, the Wildcats' defense gave Florida Atlantic few extra chances. The Wildcats committed a season-low seven turnovers and allowed only seven second-chance points.
Patterson made 12 of his 16 shots from the floor to improve on his Southeastern Conference-leading field goal percentage.
Florida Atlantic's Paul Graham led all scorers with a career-best 31 points.
A jumper by Graham with 15 minutes left gave the Owls their largest lead at 51-46. Then, Kentucky went on a 10-0 run to regain the lead for good. The teams were tied at 37 at halftime.
