Thursday, January 11, 2001
Kentucky 69, South Carolina 63
Wildcats win 5th straight, go 2-0 in SEC
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the third straight game, Kentucky built a double-digit lead in the second half.
And for the third straight game, the Wildcats' opponent made a late run to make it interesting before faltering down the stretch.
Marquis Estill and Saul Smith each made a pair of free throws in the final minute as Kentucky (8-5, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) held off South Carolina 69-63 to win its fifth straight game following an uncharacteristic 3-5 start.
After losing games to St.John's, UCLA, Georgia Tech and Michigan State by a total of nine points, Kentucky has won its last three games by two (Louisville), four (Georgia) and six (South Carolina) points.
“We did what we had to do to win,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “We knew they would be ready after a big win over Florida, and they were.
“We have this MO (modus operandi) of giving up leads. We had a lot of open looks, but the shots just weren't going down.”
Estill and Keith Bogans each scored 11, and Tayshaun Prince and Jason Parker had 10 apiece to lead the Wildcats, who shot 53.7 percent and scored 25 points on 18 South Carolina turnovers.
Marius Petravicius scored 13 points, and Jamel Bradley had 12 to lead South Carolina (9-4, 1-1), which rallied from a 14-point deficit with 16 minutes remaining to tie the game with just more than two minutes to play.
Chuck Eidson and Aaron Lucas each added 10 points for the Gamecocks, who outrebounded Kentucky 34-29 but shot only 37 percent from the field.
“We played reasonably well, but you can't play reasonably well and expect to get a win in Rupp Arena,” South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler said. “I don't know too much about Kentucky's problems. I'd like to have their problems.”
Led by Estill, Kentucky's bench was a factor for the second straight game, outscoring South Carolina's reserves 31-12.
J.P. Blevins made all three of his attempts, including two 3-pointers, to finish with eight points, for UK. Marvin Stone and Erik Daniels chipped in six and four points, respectively.
“Our bench was outstanding, and that was the key,” Tubby Smith said. “(J.P.) is playing with a lot of confidence right now. Defensively, he did a very good job and gave us a big boost.”
A 7-0 run, capped by Bradley's long 3-pointer, gave South Carolina a 16-10 lead with 12:50 to play in the first half.
Estill then scored seven of Kentucky's next nine points as the Wildcats went up 19-18 with 9:30 remaining.
A 9-2 run to end the half, which included Blevins' first 3-pointer, gave Kentucky a 32-28 halftime lead.
Prince and Estill combined to make seven of eight first-half shots as the Wildcats outscored the Gamecocks 22-14 in the paint.
Kentucky opened the second half with a 16-6 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Bogans and Gerald Fitch, to go up 48-34 with 16:22 remaining.
With South Carolina behind 55-43 with 11 minutes to play, Petravicius scored seven points during a 12-2 run to pull the Gamecocks to 57-55. Lucas made one of two free throws to tie the game at 59 with 3:54 remaining.
“On the road, your goal is to keep it close and try to win the game at the end,” Fogler said. “The key was that we didn't panic when we got down. We made some key shots and got some easy hoops that got us back in the game.”
With the game tied at 61, Prince hit a jumper and Bogans scored on a drive to the basket to put Kentucky up 65-61 with 1:07 remaining.
“It was important that South Carolina didn't take the lead, even though they tied it,” Tubby Smith said. “Our guys didn't let the pressure get to them.”
Following Rolando Howell's dunk, Estill and Saul Smith each drained two free throws in the closing moments to seal the game.
“Lucas had some big plays down the stretch, but we just couldn't pull it out,” Petravicius said.
Kentucky shot 54 percent and forced 18 turnovers, which led to 25 points. The Wildcats also scored 40 inside points to the Gamecocks' 26.
SOUTH CAROLINA (63)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Eidson 30 3-8 2-2 4-7 4 1 10
Petravicius 32 4-9 5-6 3-7 0 2 13
Kitchings 15 0-3 6-6 1-2 0 3 6
Bradley 29 4-12 2-2 0-2 0 3 12
Lucas 33 4-9 1-2 0-1 5 2 10
Ross 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Boynton 7 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 5
Clemmons 3 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Grant 21 0-2 0-1 1-3 2 1 0
R Howell 24 3-6 1-4 5-8 0 1 7
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 20-54 17-23 14-31 12 14 63
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.370, FT-.739. 3-Point Goals:
6-19, .316 (Eidson 2-3, Bradley 2-8, Lucas 1-3,
Ross 0-1, Boynton 1-2, Grant 0-2). Team rebounds:
3. Blocked shots: 2 (R Howell 2). Turnovers: 17
(Lucas 5, Eidson 3, Petravicius 3, Bradley 2,
Boynton, Grant, Kitchings, R Howell). Steals: 7
(Bradley 2, R Howell 2, Eidson, Grant,
Petravicius).
KENTUCKY (69)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Bogans 30 5-12 0-0 2-4 1 3 11
Prince 29 5-9 0-0 0-4 4 2 10
Parker 16 4-7 2-4 0-2 1 2 10
Fitch 19 2-4 0-2 4-5 2 0 5
Smith 26 0-4 2-2 0-3 2 2 2
Hawkins 9 1-2 0-0 0-2 2 2 2
Blevins 18 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 8
Daniels 12 2-4 0-0 2-3 0 1 4
Stone 22 3-4 0-0 0-1 1 1 6
Estill 19 4-5 3-3 0-2 1 4 11
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 29-54 7-11 8-26 14 18 69
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.537, FT-.636. 3-Point Goals:
4-18, .222 (Bogans 1-8, Prince 0-2, Fitch 1-2,
Smith 0-3, Blevins 2-2, Daniels 0-1). Team
rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 3 (Prince, Daniels,
Stone). Turnovers: 15 (Daniels 3, Bogans 2, Fitch
2, Parker 2, Stone 2, Blevins, Estill, Hawkins,
Prince). Steals: 6 (Bogans 2, Daniels, Fitch,
Hawkins, Smith).
__________________________________
South Carolina 28 35 - 63
Kentucky 32 37 - 69
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 21,232.
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Kentucky 69, South Carolina 63
