Woe and 10: South Carolina falls to No. 14 Kentucky, keeps winless SEC mark alive
A break from action didn’t offer much relief for the Gamecocks, who remain in search of that elusive first SEC win.
Instead, the South Carolina men’s basketball team fell to No. 14 Kentucky, 80-57, on the road Saturday. USC head coach Lamont Paris had been 2-0 against the Wildcats before this one.
“That’s a tough one,“ Paris said “… We didn’t play well enough.”
USC (10-13, 0-10 SEC) hung around early, but UK (16-7, 5-5 SEC) eventually took control, leading for 31:35 of the game at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. The Gamecocks trimmed the deficit to single digits with just over 10 minutes left, but an 11-0 Wildcat run slammed the door shut.
“That’s a been a microcosm in some instances,” Paris said. “We’re continually trying to figure out what the decisions are and the physical plays that lead to those things happening.”
Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles led USC with 14 points and eight rebounds. Senior Jacobi Wright added 12 points, and senior Jamarii Thomas had 11 points. Senior Nick Pringle had nine points, nine boards, two steals and one block.
A promising start, a familiar finish
The Gamecocks came out with defensive energy, holding Kentucky to 1 of 10 shooting to start. But their own offense wasn’t much better, opening just 2 of 8 from the field. Even so, USC led 9-6 after six minutes.
Then, Kentucky flipped a switch. The Wildcats drilled five straight shots, including a deep 3-pointer from Koby Brea, fueling a 13-2 run. Just like that, UK was up 19-11.
The Wildcats never relinquished the lead after USC led for the first six minutes.
Lost without CMB
For a stretch, it was the Murray-Boyles show. The sophomore sparked a personal 5-0 run to trim UK’s lead, attacked the rim aggressively and led all scorers with 10 points and five rebounds by halftime.
Then, disaster struck. With 5:42 left in the half, he picked up his second foul and hit the bench.
It was like night and day from there.
The Gamecocks managed just one more bucket before halftime — a jumper from Thomas — then missed their last nine shots of the period. Kentucky capitalized with a 12-1 run, pushing its lead to double digits at the break.
The difference was stark: UK’s bench outscored USC’s 23-0 in the first half, and the Gamecocks mustered just one assist before the halftime buzzer. UK finished with 39 bench points to USC’s four.
The Gamecocks’ 19 first-half points marked their second-lowest output of the season.
“We weren’t able to keep pace offensively,” Paris said. “We didn’t make shots. We didn’t have guys that performed particularly well. Not to take anything away from what they did defensively.”
At least no turnovers
Turnovers have haunted South Carolina all season, as it entered Saturday’s game ranked second-worst in the SEC in turnover margin. It has been especially troublesome throughout SEC play, averaging 15.9 turnovers per game in that stretch.
The Gamecocks only committed nine on Saturday, tying the second lowest this season — one small silver lining in an otherwise bleak day.
The problem is, USC shot 32.8% from the field, its second-worst mark of the season, matching its 57 points — also the second-lowest output this year.
Next four games
- Wednesday: vs Ole Miss, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 15: at Florida, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 18: at LSU, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 22: vs Texas, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 8, 2025 at 2:18 PM.
