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Knight, Wildcats subdue Gamecocks

Jan 23, 2011 - 2:22 AM Columbia, SC (Sports Network) - Brandon Knight scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help the 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats beat the South Carolina Gamecocks, 67-58, at Colonial Life Arena.

Darius Miller posted 18 points and five boards for the Wildcats (15-4, 3-2 SEC), who have won three of their last four games.

"We're getting better, but we may be a little different team than I think," said Kentucky head coach John Calipari. "We may be an execution team that has to grind it more than I would like, but if that's how we have to play, that's how will play."

Sam Muldrow's double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds paced South Carolina (12-6, 3-2), which was aiming for its third straight win.

"We knew that we were going to have to rebound and we did not do that in the first half," said South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn. "In the second half we did alright, but we dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first half."

Knight nailed a three-pointer to give Kentucky a 26-15 lead with about 8 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half. South Carolina pulled to within six, but a Terrence Jones dunk pushed the advantage back to double digits at 30-20.

The Wildcats led 36-26 at the break and went up 53-35 on a Doron Lamb layup near the nine-minute mark of the second stanza.

Down 16 with 4:16 remaining, South Carolina scored 11 straight points to trim its deficit to 61-56. Eric Smith was fouled on a three-point try and sank all three attempts from the foul line to cap the surge with 1:15 left.

After Lamb made two free throws, Jones blocked Bruce Ellington's bid from beyond the arc. Lamb hit another pair at the charity stripe to seal the win.

Game Notes

Jones finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals...Ellington had eight points...Kentucky made 24-of-29 free throws, while the Gamecocks connected on just 17-of-26...The Wildcats limited South Carolina to 33 percent shooting overall.