LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Surely Kentucky's dominating 76-48 victory Tuesday night did not come as a shock to South Carolina Coach Frank Martin.
On Monday, he spoke of how well Kentucky had been playing.
"Cal's got them guys playing at a high, high level like he usually does this time of year," Martin said of UK coach John Calipari. "They clearly have guys that care to defend."
Kentucky held South Carolina to a season-low point total. In fact, it was 17 points fewer than the Gamecocks' previous low, which came in a 65-52 victory over USC Upstate on Nov. 6.
Kentucky, which won a ninth straight game, improved to 19-3 overall and 8-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Cats held South Carolina to 35.8-percent shooting, which was the team's poorest accuracy since making only a third of its shots against Wyoming on Dec. 5.
It didn't help South Carolina that its leader, center Chris Silva, got in foul trouble and failed to reach double figures in points or rebounds for only the third time since Nov. 30. He finished with four points and four rebounds.
EJ Montgomery scored 11 points, his first double-digit total since getting 10 against Southern Illinois on Nov. 9.
A 17-4 run to end the first half gave Kentucky a 39-28 lead at intermission.
Until that run, South Carolina had appeared to survive Silva's early foul trouble. The Gamecocks' big man, who was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year last season, picked up two fouls barely four minutes into the game and went to the bench.
UK led 8-7. But almost eight minutes later, South Carolina led 24-22.
Still, a dramatic UK breakout seemed inevitable. In LSU's 89-67 victory over South Carolina earlier this season, LSU coach Will Wade saw Silva's two fouls in the first 2:22 as key.
"When you're down one of your best players, it's a totally different game," Wade said. "That was a huge piece to this game."
Kentucky took charge midway through the first half. A 10-0 run put the Cats ahead 32-24. Tyler Herro scored the last seven points in this breakout.
A corner 3-pointer by Washington capped the 15-2 run and put UK ahead 37-26 with 2:04 left.
Hagans punctuated the half for Kentucky. Although he had six turnovers in the half, Hagans struck a psychological blow in the final seconds. After a steal (one of three he had in the half), he whipped a pass that set up an EJ Montgomery dunk in the final seconds.
Silva wasn't the only big man who had foul trouble in the first half. Fouls also plagued Nick Richards.
Richards entered the game at the second television timeout (the 11:45 mark). Twenty-five seconds later, he picked up his first foul.
A second foul with 8:46 left sent Richards to the bench. He returned at the 6:02 mark. Fifty-seven seconds later, he picked up his third foul trying to defend a drive.
After Richards took a seat on the bench, UK Coach John Calipari danced a jig as if to tell the UK big man to either establish a better defensive position or move his feet quicker.
South Carolina, which had a 3-8 record when trailing at half, was capable of a rally.
In earlier victories over Vanderbilt and Florida, the Gamecocks rallied from 10-point deficits in the second halves. "I've liked this team from Day One," Martin said after the second such victory. "They've got a lot of resolve."
A comeback did not come quickly. After South Carolina closed within 39-32, Kentucky scored seven straight points to take its largest lead yet: 46-32. Keldon Johnson and Herro accounted for all but one of those points.
Although the teams combined to make only three of the first 21 shots in the second half, Kentucky expanded its lead to 51-35 at the second TV timeout. By then, Silva had picked up his fourth foul trying to draw a charge on the driving Immanuel Quickley with 12:31 left.
South Carolina did not score its 10th point of the second half until the 8:03 mark.
