Kentucky claws past Gamecocks to claim sole possession of 1st place

Even without its starting point guard and key piece of its defense, it was in the game. South Carolina stuck to its plan of trying to deny Malik Monk the ball and make fifth-ranked Kentucky’s other guys beat it.

The Wildcats accepted the challenge.

Derek Willis scored seven of his 12 points as Kentucky stretched a five-point second-half lead to double digits, which the No. 5 Wildcats sustained in an 85-69 win Saturday. Kentucky (17-2, 7-0 SEC) claimed sole possession of first place in the SEC as the Gamecocks ran out of offense.

Sindarius Thornwell did everything he could, scoring a career-high 34 points to put himself in eighth on the school’s career scoring list, but the Gamecocks (15-4, 5-1) couldn’t help him. Hampered by fouls and with P.J. Dozier nursing back spasms on the bench, USC received only sparks from its other players as a rally fell short.

“We weren’t any good at practice yesterday, and I was very concerned,” USC coach Frank Martin said. “It’s the first time all year we’ve had a bad practice. And I was very concerned about our team coming in today to play on this stage, as bad as we were yesterday.”

Without Dozier and with freshman Rakym Felder playing point guard, the Gamecocks were being run out of Rupp Arena before Kentucky’s tide turned. Point guard De’Aaron Fox twisted his ankle and without his steadying hand, the Wildcats’ turnovers began to mount.

Thornwell and Hassani Gravett took advantage, turning steals into breakaway dunks and closing the gap to three points in the first half. Kentucky stretched it to nine at the break, but USC trimmed it to five early in the second half.

Willis, a journeyman senior who averages seven points per game, took over. Free throws begat a posterizing dunk as USC’s battered interior had no answers.

“He always kills us,” Martin said.

With Chris Silva and Maik Kotsar held to a combined 25 minutes because of fouls, USC cycled in rotation after rotation trying to restore its defense and get some points. Not much worked, although TeMarcus Blanton posted 12 points.

The Gamecocks allowed Kentucky to shoot 58.3 percent and let the Wildcats get open looks against their formerly No. 1 3-point defense.

For a crucial week, USC did well. The Gamecocks beat No. 19 Florida and lost a road game to the best team in the league. They remain in second place in the SEC by themselves, with 12 games to go, none of them against Kentucky.

Yet they were right there, within two shots, in the second half.

Duane Notice had another anonymous night. Felder, starting for Dozier, struggled. Gravett had seven first-half points, but the fouls nixed any further contributions. USC shot 41.4 percent, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“It’s kind of frustrating during the game, but it’s not like those guys didn’t try,” Thornwell said. “Shots didn’t fall our way. It’s one game. We’ve got a game on Tuesday, so we’ve got a quick memory, we forget about this game and the only thing on our mind’s Auburn.”

NOTES: Dozier’s back is a wait-and-see proposition, not the news USC needs with Auburn coming to town Tuesday. “We’ve just got to keep treating it and hope that thing kind of cools off,” Martin said. … Tommy Corchiani didn’t travel with the 15-man restriction. Christian Schmitt, who missed the Tennessee trip while Corchiani went, was there instead.

This story was originally published January 22, 2017 at 12:52 AM with the headline "Kentucky claws past Gamecocks to claim sole possession of 1st place."