No. 14/14 Kentucky Defeats South Carolina, 80-57

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Otega Oweh scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and No. 14 Kentucky snapped a two-game skid with an 80-57 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

Brandon Garrison came off the bench and scored 15 points for Kentucky (16-7, 5-5 in the Southeastern Conference), which won at home after losses to No. 4 Alabama (Jan. 18) and Arkansas (Feb. 1).

Collin Murray-Boyles scored 14 points for South Carolina (10-13, 0-10), which dropped its 10th straight game and remained winless in conference play.

The Gamecocks struggled offensively and went through a seven-minute stretch over both halves without a field goal. They made three free throws during that stretch and were 4 for 22 from 3-point range.

The Wildcats welcomed back Lamont Butler, who had been out with a shoulder injury since Jan. 25. He scored eight points and provided a needed defensive lift after Kentucky had given up an average of 93.5 points in consecutive games. Starting guard Jaxson Robinson played after injuring his wrist in practice on Friday and being listed as questionable.

South Carolina had cut the Kentucky lead to nine at 50-41 on Murray-Boyles’ layup with 10:30 left. But, Oweh hit a 3-pointer and converted a steal into a dunk to start a 15-0 run and push the lead to 20 points.

KEY STATS

• The Gamecocks shot just 32.8% (19-of-58) from the floor and were out-rebounded 41-35. Carolina falls to 0-4 when shooting 39.0% or less than season.
• The Wildcats out-rebounded the Gamecocks, 41-35, and nearly doubled Carolina in points in the paint, with a 44-26 advantage.

NOTABLES

• Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles finished with a team-high 14 points, his 20^th game of the season in double-figures. Today was the eighth time (13^th career game) this season he’s been the team’s leading scorer.

• Senior guard Jacobi Wright had 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. It was his first game in double-figures since scoring 10 at Oklahoma back on Jan. 18.
• Senior guard Jamarii Thomas scored in double figures as well for the 15^th time this season, finishing with 11 points. He went just 3-of-12 from the floor and 1-of-6 from behind the arc.
• Carolina falls to 1-10 this season when scoring 69 points or less. The Gamecocks are now 0-2 in games where they’ve scored 59 or less.

UP NEXT

Carolina returns home to face its 11th top-25opponent of the season as it welcomes #25/RVOle Miss (17-6, 6-4 SEC) for a 7 p.m. (ET) tip on Wednesday. Kevin Fitzgerald (pxp) and former Gamecock assistant coach Perry Clark (analyst) will be on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

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