USC defeats Kentucky, takes first place in East 2/26/2009 12:06 AM
By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press
COLUMBIA -- Devan Downey scored 21 points and South Carolina set a school record with 16 blocked shots as the Gamecocks beat Kentucky 77-59 on Wednesday night.
South Carolina (20-6, 9-4 Southeastern Conference) never trailed and led by at least 18 points the whole second half to take sole possession of first place in the SEC East with three games to go in the regular season.
The Gamecocks left little doubt they are an NCAA tournament team, winning the biggest game in Columbia since the team's only SEC East title in 1997.
Downey may be South Carolina's SEC player of the year candidate, and he showed his versatility with five steals and five assists. But he received plenty of help. Dominique Archie added 12 points and four blocks and Sam Muldrow had eight points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.
Patrick Patterson scored 28 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (19-9, 8-5), who find their streak of 17 straight NCAA tournaments in jeopardy.
The Gamecocks pushed Kentucky around all night long.
Leading by 23 with less than 10 minutes to go, the 5-foot-9 Downey swooped between three defenders and hit a high-arching layup to put South Carolina ahead 68-43.
On the next possession, Muldrow and Mike Holmes had back-to-back blocks as Kentucky tried to push the ball inside, then Downey buried a 3 to give the Gamecocks their biggest lead of the game at 71-43 with nine minutes to go.
In the next three minutes, South Carolina blocked three more shots. Holmes also blocked a Patterson hook shot on its way down. He got called for an obvious goaltending, but the crowd roared anyway.
The Gamecocks hadn't finished with more than eight blocks in a game this year. Most of them came as players swarmed to help on the interior. They also forced 20 turnovers.
It was South Carolina's biggest win ever over Kentucky, and its biggest SEC win since beating Mississippi State 83-61 in February 2006.
Kentucky's Jodie Meeks, battling with Downey for SEC player of the year, scored 18 points, playing sparingly once the game got out of hand.
The loss could be disastrous for the Wildcats, who need at least a couple more wins to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday. They finish with SEC leader LSU, Florida - a team also battling for an NCAA bid - and Georgia.
South Carolina hasn't been on top of the SEC East this late in the season since 1997, when the Gamecocks won the title with a 15-1 league record. They finish with Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Georgia.
The 1997 team was the only other one to sweep Kentucky.
Wednesday's game was the biggest in Columbia since that Gamecocks team knocked off the then-No. 3 Wildcats in overtime. The courtside celebrities that night were a just-past-their-peak-of-fame Hootie and the Blowfish, who scrambled over tables to rush the court along with hundreds of other fans at the old Carolina Coliseum.
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