Kentucky Basketball: Subs Rise to Lift Cats Past South Carolina
Kentucky Basketball: Malik Monk, a big lineup, and huge contributions off the bench, help undermanned Wildcats top South Carolina
Jan 21, 2017; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Dominique Hawkins (25) dribbles the ball into South Carolina Gamecocks guard Hassani Gravett (2) in the first half at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Kentucky got 27 big points out of Malik Monk, while Isaac Humphries, Dominique Hawkins, Derek Willis and Wenyen Gabriel all played well during extended minutes, as the Wildcats slowed down the tempo and ground out a tough, important SEC win over South Carolina, 85-69.
It was Gabriel that contributed first, scoring eight early points, including two 3-pointers, all within the first five minutes, to help the Cats jump out to an early 10-point lead. Kentucky’s defense forced turnovers early, and the Cats got out in transition, as De’Aaron Fox pushed the tempo. A Monk layup with 11:29 left in the first half gave the Cats a 23-6 lead. The rout was on.
But Bam Adebayo went to the bench in foul trouble, and Fox turned his ankle, the injury ending his day for good. And South Carolina locked down on defense themselves, forcing Kentucky into 12 first half turnovers. Meanwhile, Sinjarious Thornwell was unstoppable, getting to the line and making shots to lead all scorers with 20 first half points. As such, the Gamecocks cut the lead down to one possession, 30-27, with 4:39 left in the half.
But Monk got the hot hand down the stretch in the first half, scoring 10 points in the final 3:23 to help Kentucky extend the lead back to 47-38 by the break.
In the second half, after a pair of Thornwell free throws cut the lead to 48-44, Kentucky coach John Calipari proceeded to put on a coach clinic. Subbing just seven players, the Wildcats turned to a nearly exclusive big lineup, with several stretches of both 4-players, Gabriel and Wills, on the floor with either Adebayo or Humpries, while Briscoe, Monk and Hawkins subbed in and out of the two guard spots.
Kentucky fed the post often, with Adebayo scoring 18 points on 5-6 shooting from the floor, 8-12 from the free throw line. Humphries chipped in six pints, four rebounds and two blocks. Gabriel and Wills also took advantage, with the freshman scoring 11 points, while the senior put up 12. Gabriel grabbed five rebounds, a steal and blocked a shot, while Willis grabbed seven boards and blocked a shot. Finally, Hawkins was equally big tonight, delivering his usual on-ball defensive presence, while also adding stability running the point in Fox’s absence. Hawkins scored five points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out seven assists and recorded one steal.
In the end, on a night when Fox and Mychal Mulder, who was out sick, were both unavailable, role players stepped up big time for a big conference win. And Coach Cal was masterful in his substitutions, play calling, tempo change and strategy when the game was tight.
And when the Cats absolutely had to have a bucket, there was Monk, who hit big shots in key moments on his way to 27 points on 9-14 shooting, including 4-7 from 3-point range.
The win solidifies Kentucky’s spot atop the SEC, handing the Gamecocks their first conference loss in the only scheduled meeting of the season. In what have been a de facto regular season conference championship game, and when the the Cats were shorthanded, Kentucky came up big and played tough in the second half to get the win.
The Cats return to action when Kentucky travels to Knoxville to take on the Vols. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 PM EST; ESPN will broadcast the game.
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