Cooper scores 20 as South Carolina runs away from No. 6 Kentucky 79-62
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) South Carolina coach Lamont Paris thought about what he would say if told a year ago during his 21-loss first season that his Gamecocks would follow with 16 wins, including a double-digit victory over No. 6 Kentucky.
“I'd probably say, ‘Where are we ranked?’” Paris said before cracking a smile. “I'm just kidding.”
It might not be too long before he finds out after his surprising turnaround season continued with a 79-62 victory over the Wildcats on Tuesday night.
Ta'Lon Cooper tied his career best with 20 points and Jacobi Wright added 14 with four 3-pointers as the Gamecocks (16-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) beat their highest ranked opponent since toppling undefeated No. 1 Kentucky at home 68-62 in 2010.
In that game, South Carolina overcame future NBA All-Stars John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins for the victory.
In this one, they held the nation’s top scoring team that averaged more than 91 points to its lowest output of the season.
South Carolina players “have a lot of belief, a lot of belief in themselves,” Paris said.
They also have the best defense in the SEC, which kept the highest scoring offense in the game in Kentucky (14-4, 4-2) in check much of the contest.
“We drove it and we weren't physical enough to hold our ground,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said.
Fans easily burst through the thin yellow ropes to rush the court and celebrate the latest high point in surprising season. It should cost South Carolina a $100,000 fine from the SEC under league policy, but no one was concerned about that at the moment.
“It's never happened” before, Gamecocks senior forward Josh Gray said. “That was a great experience.”
It's the third straight loss at South Carolina for the Wildcats (14-4, 4-2) and fourth in their last seven meetings in the series.
It sure didn't look like the Wildcats would struggle in this one. Kentucky hit five straight shots on the way to a 21-16 lead midway through the opening period.
But South Carolina and its SEC-leading defense kicked in after that to close the period on a 17-4 run.
The Wildcats missed nine of their final 10 shots of the period and were held to their lowest scoring half of the season.
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky's leading scorer at 19.6 points a game, shook off a 1-for-7 shooting first half with seven points early after halftime and the Wildcats were within 40-38 with 15:04 to play.
But the Gamecocks took off again on a 22-6 run to open an 18-point lead with less than eight minutes left.
Kentucky could not get within single digits the rest of the way.
The sold-out crowd - Colonial Life Arena seats 18,000 - was encouraged to wear black. The fans, including football coach Shane Beamer, yelled and screamed as time ticked down on the victory.
THE BIG PICTURE
Kentucky: The Wildcats had no answer when their shots didn't fall, often leaving South Carolina players open near the basket for easy buckets or offensive rebounds. Kentucky shot just 3 of 11 on 3-pointers while giving up 10 long-range goals to South Carolina.
South Carolina: It may be time to take the Gamecocks more seriously. The team's 13-1 start was its best in eight years, but they didn't have the marquee wins to gain notice. They do now.
POLL POSITION
South Carolina had been receiving votes in the past few polls before getting none in the latest rankings released Monday. Take care of business Saturday at home against Missouri and the Gamecocks might break into the Top 25 for the first time since 2016-17, when they reached the Final Four.
UP NEXT
Kentucky plays at Arkansas on Saturday night.
South Carolina hosts Missouri on Saturday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Aaron Bradshaw vs. Collin Murray-Boyles (Gamecocks gains possession) | |||
19:40 | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | |||
19:38 | Justin Edwards defensive rebound | |||
19:12 | +2 | Antonio Reeves makes two point jump shot | 2-0 | |
18:40 | B.J. Mack misses two point jump shot | |||
18:38 | Gamecocks turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
18:09 | Ta'Lon Cooper blocks D.J. Wagner's two point layup | |||
18:07 | Wildcats offensive rebound | |||
18:06 | Antonio Reeves misses two point jump shot | |||
18:04 | Aaron Bradshaw offensive rebound | |||
18:00 | +2 | Aaron Bradshaw makes two point layup | 4-0 | |
17:39 | Aaron Bradshaw blocks B.J. Mack's two point layup | |||
17:37 | B.J. Mack offensive rebound | |||
17:25 | Meechie Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
17:14 | Ta'Lon Cooper offensive rebound | |||
17:14 | Meechie Johnson misses two point layup | |||
17:12 | Aaron Bradshaw defensive rebound | |||
17:08 | Tre Mitchell misses two point layup | |||
17:06 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
16:57 | Meechie Johnson turnover (lost ball) (D.J. Wagner steals) | |||
16:53 | Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot | |||
16:53 | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | |||
16:53 | Aaron Bradshaw personal foul | |||
16:34 | +2 | Meechie Johnson makes two point layup | 4-2 | |
16:06 | Meechie Johnson blocks Antonio Reeves's two point layup | |||
16:04 | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | |||
15:58 | Antonio Reeves personal foul | |||
15:58 | TV timeout | |||
15:41 | Zachary Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
15:39 | Tre Mitchell defensive rebound | |||
15:28 | Antonio Reeves turnover (bad pass) (Zachary Davis steals) | |||
15:21 | +3 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes three point jump shot (Zachary Davis assists) | 4-5 | |
15:10 | Zvonimir Ivisic personal foul | |||
14:56 | Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot | |||
14:54 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
14:47 | +2 | Josh Gray makes two point dunk (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 4-7 | |
14:35 | +2 | Rob Dillingham makes two point layup | 6-7 | |
14:12 | Zachary Davis turnover (bad pass) (D.J. Wagner steals) | |||
14:06 | Rob Dillingham misses three point jump shot | |||
14:04 | Josh Gray defensive rebound | |||
13:48 | Zvonimir Ivisic blocks Josh Gray's two point layup | |||
13:46 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
13:39 | Josh Gray misses two point layup | |||
13:37 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
13:33 | +3 | Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Collin Murray-Boyles assists) | 6-10 | |
13:24 | Reed Sheppard misses three point jump shot | |||
13:22 | Zvonimir Ivisic offensive rebound | |||
13:18 | Zvonimir Ivisic misses three point jump shot | |||
13:16 | Jacobi Wright defensive rebound | |||
13:08 | Zvonimir Ivisic blocks Meechie Johnson's two point layup | |||
13:06 | Reed Sheppard defensive rebound | |||
13:03 | Reed Sheppard turnover | |||
12:45 | B.J. Mack turnover (bad pass) (Rob Dillingham steals) | |||
12:34 | +3 | Tre Mitchell makes three point jump shot (Rob Dillingham assists) | 9-10 | |
12:02 | Tre Mitchell blocks B.J. Mack's two point layup | |||
12:00 | Gamecocks offensive rebound | |||
12:00 | TV timeout | |||
11:59 | Gamecocks turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
11:42 | Aaron Bradshaw misses three point jump shot | |||
11:40 | Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound | |||
11:27 | Stephen Clark misses two point layup | |||
11:25 | Rob Dillingham defensive rebound | |||
11:22 | +2 | Rob Dillingham makes two point jump shot | 11-10 | |
11:01 | +2 | Stephen Clark makes two point dunk (Meechie Johnson assists) | 11-12 | |
10:44 | +2 | Ugonna Onyenso makes two point dunk (D.J. Wagner assists) | 13-12 | |
10:21 | B.J. Mack misses two point jump shot | |||
10:19 | Aaron Bradshaw defensive rebound | |||
10:09 | +2 | D.J. Wagner makes two point layup | 15-12 | |
9:51 | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
9:49 | Aaron Bradshaw defensive rebound | |||
9:41 | +2 | Rob Dillingham makes two point layup | 17-12 | |
9:19 | +3 | Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Meechie Johnson assists) | 17-15 | |
9:04 | +3 | Rob Dillingham makes three point jump shot | 20-15 | |
8:45 | Ugonna Onyenso shooting foul (Stephen Clark draws the foul) | |||
8:45 | Stephen Clark misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
8:45 | +1 | Stephen Clark makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-16 | |
8:33 | Josh Gray shooting foul (Zvonimir Ivisic draws the foul) | |||
8:33 | +1 | Zvonimir Ivisic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 21-16 | |
8:33 | Zvonimir Ivisic misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
8:33 | Josh Gray defensive rebound | |||
8:10 | +3 | Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Collin Murray-Boyles assists) | 21-19 | |
7:58 | Tre Mitchell turnover (bad pass) (Collin Murray-Boyles steals) | |||
7:48 | +2 | Meechie Johnson makes two point layup | 21-21 | |
7:35 | D.J. Wagner misses two point layup | |||
7:33 | Zvonimir Ivisic offensive rebound | |||
7:32 | Josh Gray personal foul | |||
7:32 | TV timeout | |||
7:17 | D.J. Wagner misses three point jump shot | |||
7:15 | Josh Gray defensive rebound | |||
6:56 | +2 | Josh Gray makes two point dunk (Zachary Davis assists) | 21-23 | |
6:47 | Meechie Johnson personal foul | |||
6:38 | Antonio Reeves misses two point layup | |||
6:36 | Aaron Bradshaw offensive rebound | |||
6:32 | +2 | Aaron Bradshaw makes two point layup | 23-23 | |
6:18 | Collin Murray-Boyles turnover (bad pass) (Reed Sheppard steals) | |||
6:11 | Meechie Johnson personal foul | |||
5:57 | Rob Dillingham misses three point jump shot | |||
5:55 | Zachary Davis defensive rebound | |||
5:33 | Collin Murray-Boyles turnover (bad pass) | |||
5:13 | Reed Sheppard turnover (bad pass) (Collin Murray-Boyles steals) | |||
4:47 | +2 | B.J. Mack makes two point layup | 23-25 | |
4:25 | Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot | |||
4:23 | Aaron Bradshaw personal foul | |||
4:05 | B.J. Mack misses two point layup | |||
4:03 | Antonio Reeves defensive rebound | |||
3:56 | D.J. Wagner misses two point layup | |||
3:54 | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | |||
3:49 | Morris Ugusuk misses three point jump shot | |||
3:47 | Antonio Reeves defensive rebound | |||
3:40 | Collin Murray-Boyles blocks Antonio Reeves's two point layup | |||
3:38 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
3:23 | +2 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes two point layup | 23-27 | |
3:02 | TV timeout | |||
2:57 | +2 | Rob Dillingham makes two point jump shot | 25-27 | |
2:40 | +3 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes three point jump shot (Stephen Clark assists) | 25-30 | |
2:18 | Justin Edwards misses two point layup | |||
2:16 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
2:02 | Collin Murray-Boyles misses two point layup | |||
2:00 | Ugonna Onyenso defensive rebound | |||
1:52 | Rob Dillingham misses two point layup | |||
1:50 | Rob Dillingham personal foul | |||
1:32 | D.J. Wagner personal foul | |||
1:32 | Stephen Clark misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
1:32 | Wildcats defensive rebound | |||
1:14 | Jacobi Wright personal foul | |||
1:02 | D.J. Wagner misses two point jump shot | |||
1:00 | Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound | |||
0:45 | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | |||
0:43 | Reed Sheppard defensive rebound | |||
0:30 | Ta'Lon Cooper blocks D.J. Wagner's two point layup | |||
0:28 | Wildcats offensive rebound | |||
0:27 | Reed Sheppard misses two point layup | |||
0:25 | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | |||
0:17 | Gamecocks 30 second timeout | |||
0:02 | +3 | Zachary Davis makes three point jump shot (B.J. Mack assists) | 25-33 | |
0:00 | End of period |