Denzel Aberdeen scores 19 and Kentucky beats South Carolina 72-63 to end a 3-game skid

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Denzel Aberdeen scored 19 points, Mouhamed Dioubate had 12 points and a key block down the stretch, and Kentucky beat South Carolina 72-63 on Tuesday night to end a three-game skid.

Kentucky (18-10, 9-6 SEC) secured its first win at South Carolina since the 2021-22 season.

The Wildcats had their lead trimmed to 59-57 with 2:43 left when Mike Sharavjamts made a wide open 3-pointer, off a nice drive and pass from Meechie Johnson. But Kentucky scored the next 10 points to pull away.

Malachi Moreno made a driving layup to give Kentucky a 61-57 lead and a block by Dioubate led to a Collin Chandler 3-pointer for a seven-point lead. South Carolina was off on a 3-pointer and Aberdeen added two free throws with 1:29 left for a nine-point advantage.

Andrija Jelavic added 11 points, Chandler finished with 10 points and Moreno had 11 rebounds for Kentucky. The Wildcats outrebounded South Carolina 48-28, including an 18-5 edge on the offensive end.

Johnson led South Carolina (12-16, 3-12) with 18 points. Sharavjamts added 12 points and Elijah Strong scored 11.

South Carolina was just 7-of-28 shooting in the first half (25%) to trail 28-21. But the Gamecocks made 10 of their first 16 shots of the second half to tie it at 48-all with eight minutes left.

Up next

Kentucky: Returns home to play No. 25 Vanderbilt on Saturday.

South Carolina: Plays at Georgia on Saturday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball