Black over Blue! South Carolina stuns No. 6 Kentucky for signature SEC basketball win
Five thousand students, a blackout game and a near-sold out Colonial Life Arena had its eyes peeled on the basketball court. South Carolina men’s basketball welcomed No. 6 Kentucky into its home Tuesday night.
Head coach Lamont Paris looked calm as he coached the Gamecocks. Everyone around him, however, wasn’t calm.
Because USC was inches away from its first ranked win of the season, and first ranked win for Paris as the Gamecocks’ head coach. When it happened, and USC held on for a 79-62 win, Gamecocks fans stormed the court to celebrate the all-important conference win.
Paris is now the second-ever USC men’s basketball head coach to start 2-0 against the Wildcats in his career, where he joins Darrin Horn. It’s also the highest home ranked win since defeating then-No. 1 Kentucky 68-62 on Jan. 26, 2010.
Big-time defense
South Carolina held the No. 1 scoring offense to 25 points in the first half.
Let that sink in for a moment.
The Gameockcs, who’ve allowed less than 65 points per game this season, were heavily reliant on their defensive pressure against the Wildcats. Paris used multiple different tactics to slow down Kentucky, including a brand-new combination of players.
BJ Mack, Ta’Lon Cooper, Morris Ugusuk, Zach Davis and Collin Murray-Boyles.
The lineup provided a very defensive-focused group against Kentucky’s offense, even though USC was undersized. Kentucky finished the first half with a three-minute scoring drought, going 0-for-5 for field goals.
Murray-Boyles alone played well enough in the affair for his first game against a ranked opponent. The true freshman had six rebounds, three assists and four points. Every USC big that played contributed on offense in some capacity.
Well shot Gamecocks
It’s been said again and again: basketball is all about scoring runs. South Carolina ended the first half with a 6-0 run to have an eight point lead, and Kentucky was plagued with suffering through it all. The Wildcats shot just 41% from the field, including 27% from the 3-point line.
Meanwhile, USC was 43% from the long range arc and shot 47% from the field.
South Carolina was on top of every turnover, won the rebound battle and had over 20 assists against Kentucky. On a night were everyone needed to click in a garnet and black uniform, that’s exactly what they did.
There wasn’t an overwhelming run in the second half, though Kentucky tried to amount a 6-0 run with five minutes left to play. At that point, South Carolina expanded its lead well into the double-digits, and the Gamecocks were just tacking more and more points on the board.
Contributing across the board
There wasn’t one Gamecock who played a monster game. There wasn’t one Gamecock who didn’t contribute. Paris said on Monday it would take a collective effort, and he was right.
Every basket USC made, Colonial Life Arena went crazy. Every single person was invested. It made the outcome that much sweeter come the final buzzer.
Jacobi Wright and Cooper led South Carolina’s scoring, both reaching double figures early in the second half. Mack and Meechie Johnson trailed right behind the leading pair, with Murray-Boyles and Davis helping as well.
Wright and Cooper eventually pulled away, with Cooper finishing the game with a career-high 20 points. Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves led the Wildcats with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Next four games
Jan. 27 vs. Missouri, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Jan. 30 at No. 5 Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 3 at Georgia, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 6 vs. Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
