South Carolina once again came up short in its quest for an SEC victory, falling prey to no. 14 Kentucky 80-57 at Rupp Arena, Saturday. Point guard Jacobi Wright scored 15 seconds into the game to put USC on the board first. Three minutes later, Kentucky had taken the lead away and would never relinquish it.
The Gamecocks couldn’t get going offensively, scoring just 19 points on 24% shooting before halftime. Things didn’t get much better in the second half as South Carolina failed to mount a rally.
USC simply couldn’t find the range, making just 18% of its 3-point attempts and hitting just 65% from the foul line. Depth was also an issue as Kentucky’s reserves outscored the Gamecocks’ bench players 39-4.
Collin Murray-Boyles led the Gamecocks with 14 points and eight rebounds. Wright (12 points) and Jamarii Thomas (11 points) joined Murray-Boyles in double figures and Nick Pringle narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
South Carolina (10-13, 0-10) will take another crack at picking up a conference win when it plays host to Ole Miss at 7 p.m., Wednesday.