South Carolina upsets No. 12 Kentucky with banked-in 3-pointer at buzzer

Drew Mueller | Special to The Courier Journal

Something about Columbia, South Carolina has coach John Calipari teams' number.

In three out of the past four matchups in Colonial Life Arena, Calipari has been upset by the Gamecocks.

On Wednesday night, South Carolina came back from down 14 to beat No. 12 Kentucky 81-78 on Wednesday night, giving coach Calipari only his seventh loss in 279 games when his Wildcats were up at least 10 points at any time in a contest.

Down 78-76 with time winding down, Kentucky's Immanuel Quickley hit a baseline jumper to tie it up with less than five seconds left. It didn't matter, though, as Jermaine Couisnard banked in a last-second 3-pointer as time expired, giving South Carolina the win.

"I really didn't know it was going in," Couisnard said about his final shot. "I felt like I shot an air ball."

Kentucky (12-4) took its first conference loss of the year. South Carolina improved to 9-7 and got its first home win since Dec. 4.

SOUTH CAROLINA BEATS KENTUCKY AT THE BUZZER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/pqlWPIKO7w — SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 16, 2020

The first half was not like the second. Kentucky held South Carolina scoreless until the 15:24 mark when AJ Lawson sank a pair of free throws. The Gamecocks started off 0-for-7 from the field but allowed Kentucky only eight points in that stretch.

The Wildcats' defense held the Gamecocks to 24% from the floor in the first half. Even with South Carolina's poor shooting, Kentucky couldn't quite build a big lead going into halftime. With 1:25 left in the first, the Wildcats had their 11-point lead cut to five before Ashton Hagans extended it back to eight with a three-point play.

Both teams were in foul trouble early. Before halftime, Kentucky had 11 team fouls with Nick Richards, Tyrese Maxey and EJ Montgomery owning two apiece, and South Carolina had 12. Nick Richards, who had averaged a double-double in the past four games, picked up his two midway through the first half, prompting Calipari to sit him for the rest of the half.

"Nick Richards getting in foul trouble helped us," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. "It takes away a tremendous presence at the rim on offense and defense."

The Gamecocks came out in the second half looking different, sinking their first three 3-pointers and carving the Kentucky lead to four.

"You got to give South Carolina credit," Calipari said. "They never stopped. I thought we had them when it was 14, and let's get this to 20. They didn't stop."

Riding the shooting of Couisnard, who led all scorers with 26, South Carolina kept it close. A flurry of back-and-forth baskets led to South Carolina tying the game at 68 with less than five minutes to play.

The Gamecocks eventually took the lead on a Justin Minaya 3-pointer after a successful pair of free throws by Hagans, giving them their first lead of the game at 71-70. From there, South Carolina put the game away.

As a team, turnovers plagued the Wildcats.

"We had so many breakdowns, so many turnovers," Calipari said. "We had 15. ... And most of them were like running somebody over or trying to make a play when you should be passing. The discipline issue I've been talking about came through today, and I keep saying it, 'You have to be a disciplined player. This is about a group of guys coming out together and playing together. You can't be the guy that does your own thing.' "

South Carolina's TJ Moss also played well on both sides of the ball in the second half, scoring eight of his 10 points in the final 20 minutes and drawing praise from his coach.

"Him and Jermaine are giving us courage, something I've been begging this team to have," Martin said.