. – Even without their starting point guard and key piece of their defense, they were in the game. South Carolina stuck to its plan of trying to deny Malik Monk the ball and make fifth-ranked Kentucky’s other guys beat it.
The Wildcats accepted the challenge.
Derek Willis scored seven of his 12 points as Kentucky stretched a five-point second-half lead to double digits, which the No. 5 Wildcats sustained in an 85-69 win. Kentucky (17-2, 7-0 SEC) claimed sole possession of first place in the SEC as the Gamecocks ran out of offense.
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Sindarius Thornwell did everything he could, scoring a career-high 34 points to put himself in ninth, then eighth on the school’s career scoring list and keep his team in the game, but the Gamecocks (15-4, 5-1) couldn’t help him.