Kentucky Faces First Test As No. 1 At South Carolina

Head over to South Carolina blog Garnet & Black Attack and Kentucky blog A Sea of Blue for updates and recaps.

Columbia, SC (Sports Network) - Devan Downey scored 30 points and South Carolina secured its first-ever win against a No. 1 ranked team by dealing Kentucky its first loss of the season, 68-62, to set off a wild celebration.

Before Tuesday, South Carolina had been 0-7 against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, but the Gamecocks (12-8, 3-3 SEC) gained the upperhand in the latter stages and held on. Brandis Raley-Ross added 17 points for South Carolina.

“Anytime you beat the No. 1 team on national TV, it’s covered coast to coast and gets exposure for your program,” South Carolina coach Darrin Horn said. “We said from day one we want games like this and to be competitive in them, otherwise there’s no reason to be here. It’s a good step and gives us something to talk about.”

DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (19-1, 4-1), who were the last remaining unbeaten team in the country. Kentucky moved to the top of the rankings Monday for the first time since the final poll of the 2002-03 season.

John Wall added 19 point on 6-of-16 shooting for the Wildcats, who ended at 38.6 percent from the field.

Raley-Ross hit a pair of free throws with 1:44 remaining, but the Gamecocks nearly wasted the 62-56 edge.

Wall sank a pair of foul shots seven seconds later, and after Downey missed a layup Austin Steed blocked a Wall layup.

Sam Muldrow was off the mark on a free throw for the Gamecocks, but Kentucky missed a pair of three-pointers before Wall converted a three-point play with 40.1 seconds to go.

Raley-Ross made two from the line about 16 seconds later and Kentucky turned the ball over when a bounce pass went off of Wall and out of bounds.

Muldrow and Wall exchanged one free throw made, bringing the Wildcats within 65-62 with 12.9 left. But Ross converted one shot at the line with 10.8 ticks left to seal the stunning victory.

Kentucky was ahead 29-26 at the half, but the final 20 minutes was a momentum- changer. The Gamecocks moved ahead 39-33 following a jumper by Muldrow, but Kentucky rallied for 10 straight points later for a 47-42 edge.

“We’re supposed to be one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “They came in minus-four on the year and got 20 offensive rebounds. What it meant was S.C. was working harder than we were working.”

Muldrow had nine points and 11 boards for the Gamecocks, who ended at 34.4 percent shooting...Downey went 10-of-11 at the foul line, but just 9-of-29 from the field.