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It doesn’t take long for the tides to turn, especially on a far-from-average night.

For the Cats’ Jodie Meeks and Florida’s Nick Calathes, it all happened with less than five seconds remaining.

With 4.7 seconds left, a cramping Meeks soared, pumped and connected on a 3-point bomb to break a tie and give the Cats a 68-65 lead.

“I just tried to take the best opportunity I could get, and I just got a lucky shot. When I stepped back, my left calf cramped so I was just trying to get it off. I had to double-pump and put it to my right,” Meeks said, noting that Calathes tipped the ball before he let it fly. “That’s my second buzzer beater. I hit one in eighth grade.”

Calathes took the ball to the other end and, in a moment of desperation to try and even it up, he was fouled by junior Kevin Galloway. Calathes went to the line to extend his already-career-best night. The free-throw trip took an unusual turn: The sure-handed Calathes missed all three free throws.

The Cats’ bench erupted after the first and second misses. At that point, Florida head coach Billy Donovan called a timeout.

“He missed that first one, and the crowd came through for us. That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard them,” sophomore Josh Harrellson said. “I couldn’t hear myself think.”

As the teams returned to the court for the third shot, Harrellson turned to pump up the 24,355 people in attendance. Meeks tapped him on the shoulder and told him it wasn’t over yet.

“Don’t celebrate yet. There’s still a chance,” Meeks said, according to Harrellson.

At one point, the Cats (17-7, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) didn’t know if they’d have anything at all to celebrate. Never mind the up-and-down game that featured nine lead changes and six ties — with 9:06 left in the second half, sophomore Patrick Patterson crashed to the floor after trying to block a Florida shot.

On his way down, he rolled his right ankle. After a brief trip to the locker room, Patterson returned to the bench but did not re-enter the game. UK Athletics spokesman DeWayne Peevy said Patterson sprained his right ankle. X-rays were negative, and Patterson’s status is day-to-day.

Soon after Patterson’s exit, the Gators (19-5, 6-3 SEC) ran off a 12-2 run to give themselves a six-point cushion. But a few unusual suspects — Harrellson and Galloway — held the team together all the way until Meeks’ game-changer and through Calathes’ misses.

“That is as tough as we have played in a long time and we haven’t played tougher than that this year,” Gillispie said. “They did what we asked them to do when it wasn’t looking great for us.”

Calathes torched the Cats for a career-high 33 points, but the last three free throws are what he’ll remember. He said it wasn’t the crowd—he “just missed them.”

After Calathes missed his shots and the mob of players and media members started to clear the court, Gillispie looked up to someone in the stands and gave a wink.

On a far-from-average night night, Gillispie didn’t stray from his usual answer.

“There was probably just something in my eye.”