COLUMBUS, OHIO ? Staying in the luxury hotel was an unexpected perk, and getting a police escort to the arena was another surprise for Florida A&M.

“I kind of felt like the President,” Rattlers guard Demarcus Wilkins said.

It would be tough to find a team who enjoyed its NCAA Tournament experience more than Florida A&M, which hated to see it end with a 96-76 loss Friday night to top-seeded Kentucky.

“I wish I could play for another week,” Wilkins said.

Kentucky, meanwhile, feels relieved to be moving on.

Gerald Fitch scored 26 points and Erik Daniels had 18 as the Wildcats (27-4) advanced to the second round by holding off the fearless Rattlers in the St. Louis Regional.

It was anything but easy for the Wildcats, who didn’t lock up their 13th straight first-round win until midway through the second half.

“Getting that first one under your belt is always tough,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “I don’t care who you’re playing or how high you’re seeded.”

For nearly 30 minutes, Florida A&M’s unheralded players, who don’t enjoy the exposure, travel budget or stature of Kentucky’s roster stuffed with high school All-Americans, went toe-to-toe with the powerful Wildcats.

Florida A&M's Terrence Woods, right, hugs teammate Tony Tate as Woods left their game against Kentucky. The Rattlers lost, 96-76, Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Early on, the Rattlers (15-17) knew they had the Wildcats, well, rattled.

“I seen it,” said Terrence Woods, who led Florida A&M with 24 points — but just four in the second half. “I told our guys, ‘Let’s just keep it close.’ And the longer we stayed in the game, the more rattled they got.”

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champions shot with the Wildcats, rebounded with them and even jawed a little bit with their SEC counterparts.

The Rattlers were within 10 at 77-67 with 9:41 remaining before Kentucky embarked on a 15-2 run that gave them breathing room and made the final score more lopsided than the game really was.

“They came ready to play,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said of the Rattlers. “They were very impressive to come in here and play like this.”

Florida A&M’s loss dropped No. 16 seeds to 0-80 since the tournament expanded in 1985, but the Rattlers made it fun for their fans — and TV viewers — as long as they could.

They also may have given hope to any team who might face Kentucky in the upcoming rounds of the tourney. Until they were forced to step up their intensity, the Wildcats looked soft on defense, forcing Smith to do far more yelling than he ever imagined.

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Kentucky led just 60-52 at the end of a frenetic first half, and Wilkins said he could tell during warmups for the second half that the Wildcats knew they were in a fight.

“They kept peeking over at us,” he said. “They were looking at us in a different way. They thought this was going to be a cupcake. But we came here to get respect, and I think we got it.”

Smith wasn’t happy with his team’s defensive effort in the first half, but didn’t rip into his players like they expected.

“Coach was kind of calm,” Chuck Hayes said. “I was expecting him to kind of go off on us. But he approached us a different way, and that’s why he’s a great coach.”

Hayes had 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Kentucky, the tourney’s top seed for the second straight year and ninth time since 1979.

Wilkins had 16 for the Rattlers, who stayed close by making eight three-pointers in the first half and then hit just three after halftime.

Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott and his squad watch the waning moments of their 65-60 loss to Georgia Tech. UNI fell Friday in Milwaukee.

Woods had 20 points in the opening half, but felt ill at halftime and had his vital signs checked by the team’s trainer after complaining of light-headedness. He was a different player in the second half, going just 1-of-6 from the field.

Kentucky’s defense had a lot to do with that, too.

“We did a better job on him, and that was the difference,” Fitch said.

Ala.-Birmingham 102, Washington 100

Columbus, Ohio — Demario Eddins scored a career-high 26 points and made the decisive plays in the closing seconds, leading Alabama-Birmingham. Eddins took a charge that negated a basket, hit two free throws with 16.2 seconds left and blocked a shot, sending the Blazers (21-9) to their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1986. Nate Robinson led Washington (19-12) with 27 points.

Georgia Tech 65, Northern Iowa 60

Milwaukee — Georgia Tech got as big a test as any it found in the ACC. From the most unlikely of schools, no less.

Luke Schenscher scored 13, including a pair of free throws with 34 seconds to play, and B.J. Elder had 12 points as Georgia Tech held off pesky Northern Iowa.

Anthony McHenry added 10 points for the third-seeded Yellow Jackets (24-9), who advanced to the second round of the St. Louis Regional, where they’ll play sixth-seeded Boston College on Sunday.

Northern Iowa (21-10), the 14th seed, was making just its second NCAA appearance.

Boston College 58, Utah 51

Milwaukee — Craig Smith scored 19 points and had eight rebounds for sixth-seeded Boston College, which muscled Utah out in the first round of the St. Louis Regional.

Utah (24-9), seeded 11th, got just eight points from senior sharpshooter Nick Jacobson, who made just three of 18 shots and was just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.