Lamont Paris details how South Carolina was able to hang onto second-half lead vs. Kentucky

Much of the discussion has been about the failure of Kentucky but South Carolina deserves some praise as well. Lamont Paris was able to earn a historic victory for the program, getting just a third win throughout history at Rupp Arena. A truly remarkable night for the Gamecocks, who had been struggling themselves.

South Carolina did not always make things easy though, having to go through some intense Kentucky runs in the second half. Paris thinks their own offense was key in putting a brief pause on the Wildcats’ momentum, even if they continually made shots.

Seeing some “timely” buckets go through the hoop can deject runs. Especially as the clock gets closer and closer to double zeros.

“We made some timely shots here and there,” Paris said. “I think that was critical when they made runs. At one point, they had made five baskets in a row and then other time, they had four trips in a row that they had scored. The difference in that is monumental between five in a row gap, four in a row, vs. nine straight. So, I think generating some good offense was what slowed down the run.”

“We were also very deliberate about getting back into the stuff that we wanted to do and what our game plan was. Attacking when we had a chance to attack and spacing the floor out and the matchups that we wanted to try to get involved with. I think a lot of it was a couple timely shots and a stop there when we needed to.”

South Carolina made sure to run their own game

Kentucky may not be the normal Kentucky of years past. The program is arguably at an all-time low under head coach John Calipari. Fans are getting restless and in some cases, are even asking for him to leave for the vacant Texas job. Big Blue Nation is frustrated, to say the least.

Even so, Lamont knows the capabilities the Wildcats have. The pressure picked up as the second half rolled on and at times, South Carolina looked as if they were going to break. Lamont was able to settle things down and help his team get back into their own game. Ultimately, the move paid off.

“We knew they would make a run, they got a really good team,” Paris said. “They don’t do the things that they’ve done by accident. I think the biggest part of it was us getting back into what we want to do. They got a couple steals, turned up the pressure. We turned it over in the backcourt for a layup. It looked like it might go a certain way.”

Lamont Paris proud of players following historic win

Paris is in his first season as South Carolina head coach and has already accomplished nearly all of his predecessors have. A road win against Kentucky is a moment to celebrate, no matter the circumstances of the current season.

Proud is the emotion Paris used to describe how if is feeling during his postgame press conference.

“I couldn’t be prouder of those guys at that moment,” Paris said. “These guys have never been here in this building playing, they’ve never been in this situation. To not let that thing continue to slide in the wrong direction and reel it back in, I thought that was a big reason why we were able to keep just enough distance.”

South Carolina will now be hoping to keep the momentum with a home game against Texas A&M on the schedule. There was a lot to be learned during the Kentucky matchup and Paris will want those lessons to be applied over the next two months.