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Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena 2-8-25
The Kentucky Wildcats returned to Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. The ‘Cats, led by Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison, swept past the Gamecocks on their way to a big 80-57 win to stop a two-game skid. Kentucky was coming off its worst game of the season in the mid-week game against Ole Miss in Oxford.
The ‘Cats displayed poor effort in rout to a 14-points loss earlier in the week as the ‘Cats were searching for answers on both ends without a healthy point guard at the helm. In a surprising fashion, Lamont Butler did return to the Kentucky lineup on Saturday against South Carolina. Butler had missed the last 3 games with a shoulder injury and finished the game with 23-minutes while scoring 8 points for the ‘Cats. It was a good return for Butler and an important development for the ‘Cats. Jaxson Robinson injured his wrist in practice on Friday and was a game-time decision for Saturdays game. He also contributed 20-minutes in the game and scored 6 points. It was clear his wrist was a factor in his ball-handling and shot selection throughout the game. Kentucky native Trent Noah picked up more minutes in Saturdays game to relieve some of the guards who were battling injuries. He gave the ‘Cats an energetic 13-minutes and added 5 points and 5 rebounds. Brandon Garrison came off the bench to contribute a season-high 15 points for the ‘Cats, backing up Amari Williams. Williams collected just the fourth triple-double in Kentucky Basketball history on Tuesday night earlier this week, scoring 12 point and adding 11 rebounds and 10 assists. It was a true team effort on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor against South Carolina. The defense held the Gamecocks to just 33% shooting and just 18% (4 of 22) from beyond the arc. Butler adds leadership and defensive intensity that is lacking without him in the rotation. Kentucky will look to keep some momentum into the heart of the SEC schedule as they take on the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday next week (February 11). The ‘Cats are now sitting at 5-5 in the SEC, good for 8th in the conference at this point in the season.
The spread for Saturday’s matchup against South Carolina was -10.5 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 151.5.
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh, Ansley Almonor, and Amari Williams.
Game Recap:
First Half
Kentucky won the tip but Williams missed the first shot of the game in the paint. The ‘Cats forced a shot clock violation on the first defensive stand of the game. The first points of the game came on a goaltending call against Kentucky that would be reviewed during the next timeout. Kentucky pounded the pain to begin the game but couldn’t get a shot to fall. Butler, in his first game back from injury, missed two layups in the first stretch of game action. Butler created a steal and Oweh took it the distance for a layup. Almonor played good defense but couldn’t get the defensive stop. The ‘Cats trailed 4-2 at the first media timeout. Kentucky began the game shooting 1 of 9 from the field. Andrew Carr entered the game and collected a hustle board for the ‘Cats. Carr gained an offensive board and Robinson found Garrison for a score underneath the basket. Murray-Boyles responded with a three for the Gamecocks. Carr turned and scored on the other end. Garrison again scored off a two-man game with Robinson. Garrison got beat on the defensive end by Murrary-Boyles on a drive to the basket. Brea put a shot up and in to make the score 11-10 South Carolina. Brea nailed a three with a defender in his face to give Kentucky a 13-11 lead. Williams threw it away on the next possession and the ‘Cats took a 13-11 lead into the under 12-minute media timeout. The ‘Cats finally got the ball moving and Almonor found Robinson in the corner for a three. Brea stole the ball and Robinson found him in transition for a rhythm three to push the score to 19-11 Kentucky with 8:24-minutes to play. The ‘Cats had a defensive lapse and gave up an easy offensive rebound that led to Murray-Boyles going to the free-throw line for 2 shots. He hit 1 of 2 at the line. Garrison gave up another score to Murray-Boyles to make the score 19-14 Kentucky. Garrison again lost an offensive rebound that led to a Gamecock score. Carr was fouled on a mid-range jumper on the next possession. Trent Noah flew in for an offensive rebound to regain possession for the ‘Cats. Noah found Carr who nailed the three at the top of the key with the shot clock winding down. Noah again found a rebound and drove it down but missed the open three. Noah hustled for a lose ball and the ‘Cats found Carr for another easy score in the paint for a 26-18 lead. Kentucky led 26-18 with 2:40-minutes to play in the first half. Garrison ran the floor after a Kentucky rebound and scored in transition off a Brea pass. Williams powered his way to a score and the foul. Kentucky led 30-19 after the free-throw. Kentucky had good ball movement and spacing and Butler found Williams for an alley-oop layup score. Kentucky led 33-19 at halftime.
Kentucky finished the first half on a 12-1 run over the final 4-minutes of play, while holding South Carolina without a field goal for the final 5-minutes of the half. Kentucky shot 41% from the field and 36% (4 of 11) from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats defense held South Carolina to just 24% shooting and just 9% (1 of 11) from three. The ‘Cats had 9 assists to 4 turnovers and each team had 23 rebounds apiece. Andrew Carr led Kentucky in scoring with 9 first half points, while Koby Brea added 8 points. Trent Noah gave Kentucky good minutes as he collected 4 rebounds in just 6-mintutes of action. The ‘Cats struggled to get a rhythm on offense but played the best defense of the year to this point in the first half. Lamont Butler played 12 minutes in the first half after missing the last 3 games due to a shoulder injury. They will look to pick up their offensive efficiency in the second half as they begin to get healthier.
Halftime: Kentucky 33 – South Carolina 19
Second Half
The ‘Cats scored on the first possession of the second half off a Butler assist to Williams. Williams then returned the favor with an assist to Butler on the next trip down the floor. The ‘Cats led 37-19 1-minute into the second half. South Carolina hit two free-throws then Butler was fouled spinning his way to the basket. Butler hit 1 of 2 at the line. Thomas nailed a three for South Carolina but Robinson responded with a three of his own for the ‘Cats. Thomas drove in and scored over Butler. South Carolina went on a quick 6-0 run to narrow the ‘Cats lead to 41-30 with 14:49-minutes to play in the game. The ‘Cats moved the ball well out of a timeout and Brea drove the baseline to find Garrison for a layup score. The Gamecocks scored on an out-of-bounds play to make the score 43-32 Kentucky. Robinson found Garrison on a pick-and-roll and Garrison slammed it down. Carr rejected a shot and found Noah for a three that rimmed out. Robinson exited the game after injuring his wrist on a rebound attempt. Butler threw away the out-of-bounds pass and the Gamecocks scored in transition. Butler then found Garrison who again slammed it down in the paint. The Gamecocks hit a three but Garrison responded with a wide-open three on the other end. Garrison picked up a technical following the made three and the Gamecocks hit both free-throws. The ‘Cats led 50-39 with 10:47-minutes to play. Murray-Boyles scored over Williams to bring the ‘Cats lead under 10 at 50-41. The ‘Cats got the steal and Oweh hit a long jumper. Oweh missed a shot but stole the ball immediately to slam it down for a 54-41 ‘Cats lead. Brea found Williams for a skying slam with an added foul. Williams hit the free-throw and the ‘Cats led 58-41. Williams found Butler for a back door slam with another and-one opportunity. Butler hit the free-throw to give Kentucky a 61-41 lead. Brea missed a corner three but Oweh came flying in for a putback dunk. Garrison found a cutting Oweh for another score in the paint. The Gamecocks ended a 15-1 run by Kentucky with a three to make the score 65-45 ‘Cats with 5-minutes to play. Brea dribbled it into the paint and scored on a hook shot. Butler was fouled and hit both shots at the line to push the score to 69-45 ‘Cats. Oweh hit two free throws then stole the ball for a transition score to push the score to 73-47 Kentucky. The Gamecocks went to the line for free-throws on multiple trips to bring the score to 73-53 Kentucky. Chandler missed a three but Noah followed it up with an offensive board and putback layup. Noah then hit a three to make the score 80-55 Kentucky. The ‘Cats went on to beat South Carolina by a final score of 80-57.
Final: Kentucky 80 – South Carolina 57
Game Stats:
South Carolina FG %: 33% (18% 3PT – 4 of 22) (65% FT – 15 of 23)
Kentucky FG %: 48% (35% 3PT – 8 of 23) (92% FT – 12 of 13)
Rebounds: 41 – 35 Kentucky
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 19:9
Turnovers: UK (9), South Carolina (9)
Bench Points: 39 – 4 Kentucky
Points off Turnovers: 14 – 6 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 14 – 12 South Carolina
Paint Points: 44 – 26 Kentucky
Player Stats:
Otega Oweh – [(17 points) (4 rebounds) (1 block) (2 steals)]
Brandon Garrison – [(15 points) (1 rebound) (1 assist) (2 blocks)]
Amari Williams – [(10 points) (6 rebounds) (2 assists)]
Koby Brea – [(10 points) (5 rebounds) (6 assists) (1 steal)]
Andrew Carr – [(9 points) (3 rebounds) (1 block)]
Lamont Butler – [(8 points) (1 rebound) (3 assists) (1 steal)]
Jaxson Robinson – [(6 points) (5 rebounds) (4 assists)]
Trent Noah – [(5 points) (5 rebounds) (1 assist)]
Ansley Almonor – [(2 rebounds) (1 assist)]
Travis Perry – [(1 rebound)]
Collin Chandler – [(1 assist)]
Next Game:
The ‘Cats (16-7, 5-5 SEC) will return to Rupp Arena to take on the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers (20-4, 7-4 SEC) on Tuesday, February 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
