Kentucky downs South Carolina; snaps three-game skid

COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – The Kentucky Wildcats snapped their three-game losing streak with a 72-63 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia on Tuesday evening.

The Wildcats got off to a slow start once again, finding themselves down 12-7 at the first media timeout. Kentucky shut down the Gamecocks for the remainder of the first half, outscoring South Carolina 21-9 over the final 13:58.

Kentucky led 28-21 at halftime.

The Gamecocks came out of the locker room on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes to tie the game at 28.

It remained close over the next 14 minutes, as Kentucky held a 59-57 lead with just under three minutes to play.

The Wildcats finished the game on a 13-6 run over the final 2:52 to secure the 72-63 victory.

Denzel Aberdeen scored a game-high 19 points for Kentucky. Mo Dioubate (12), Andrija Jelavic (11), and Collin Chandler (10) joined him in double figures.

Otega Oweh’s 30-game streak of scoring 10 or more points was snapped, as he finished with eight. It was just his fourth game as a Wildcat in which he scored in single digits.

Meechie Johnson led the Gamecocks with 18 points. He also had four rebounds and six assists.

Malachi Moreno grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and added eight points in the win.

With the victory, Kentucky improves to 18-10 (9-6 SEC), while South Carolina falls to 12-16 (3-12 SEC).

Kentucky will return home to face the Vanderbilt Commodores (21-6, 8-6 SEC) on Saturday at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN.