When you needed him most, he delivered. Captain Clutch, Collin Chandler, drilled a 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining to give Kentucky Basketball a 64-57 lead that helped them eventually take down the South Carolina Gamecocks, 72-63.
Chandler only had five points before that shot.
Kentucky closed the game on a 13-6 run for a nine-point victory. Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 19 points, with Collin Chandler and Mouhamed Dioubate also in double figures.
Kentucky did just enough to win in South Carolina Tuesday night. The three-game losing streak is over. That’s one win.
Let’s get another one Saturday against Vandy.
First Half
South Carolina made four 3s in the first five-plus minutes, taking an early 12-7 lead.
Kentucky was missing a lot of open shots early, including Brandon Garrison missing a dunk. But the Wildcats eventually found a rhythm, with Denzel Aberdeen hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give them a 19-15 lead with 7:52 to play.
Those were two of Aberdeen’s 3-pointers in a 13-0 run to give Kentucky a 22-15 lead.
The 13-0 run was the difference in the first half. If it wasn’t for that, Kentucky’s offense would have a much worse stat line. Kentucky scored just six points in the final 6:39 of the first half.
Kentucky shot just 11-31 from the field in the first half, including 4-16 from 3-point range.
But where the Wildcats made their mark was on the board, out-rebounding the Gamecocks 26-15. The Wildcats had eight offensive rebounds.
Over the final 10:54, Kentucky held the Gamecocks to just six points. South Carolina shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half, including 4-16 from 3-point range.
Second Half
The struggles continued in the second half, with Kentucky continuing to miss open looks and turn the ball over.
It seemed like their best offense was getting to the free-throw line, which, on some trips, resulted in an and-1. That’s good.
When one thing seemed to go well for the Wildcats, another thing didn’t.
You look up at the scoreboard and see that Oweh only has six points, Chandler only has three points, and no one besides Denzel Aberdeen was really contributing.
Kentucky kept up its prowess on the glass, which was its saving grace in this game. Mouhaed Dioubate was on the boards on both ends, fighting for rebounds and driving to the basket.
Kentucky led 59-52 at the under-four media timeout and 3:30 remaining. It was time to close out the game. They would do just that, with a 13-4 run led by a Chandler 3-pointer and dunk, along with clutch free-throw shooting.
MVP: Denzel Aberdeen
It may be by default, but he deserves it. The senior was in attack mode all night. If it wasn’t for him, the Wildcats may not have won this game. There were other solid performers, and Aberdeen stood out the most among all Kentucky players.
Highlights
Box Score
Kentucky vs. South Carolina Twitter Reactions
Big Blue Nation sweated that one out. Here are the best Twitter reactions.
