UK Basketball: Cats adapted to slower pace at South Carolina

Kentucky coach John Calipari is finding out more about his team on a daily basis.
He admitted that the Wildcats are “getting better” following a 67-58 triumph over South Carolina Saturday in Columbia, S.C. and added that his squad “may be a little different team than I think.”
“We may be an execution team that has to grind it out more than I would like, but if that’s how we have to play, that’s how we will play,” the Kentucky coach said.
The change of pace proved to be beneficial against the Gamecocks, resulting in the team’s first road victory of the season in the Southeastern Conference. In hindsight, Calipari said he would have reverted to a grinding style last week in a 68-66 loss at Alabama if he had known his team could handle the transition.
“When I think about what we did at the Alabama game, we needed to play more like this,” he said.
Unlike Kentucky’s previous outing against the Crimson Tide, the Wildcats “performed better” overall and were led by former Mason County standout Darius Miller. The junior guard scored a season-high 18 points against the Gamecocks and finished in double-digits for the fifth time in the past six games.
Of course Calipari was pleased with Miller’s point production, but was even more impressed with his aggressiveness.
“He was aggressive — that’s all I am asking him to do,” he said. “You don’t have to make every shot. He looked like one of the best players in our league.”
Terrence Jones, normally a second-half performer, made his first start since a loss to Georgia on Jan. 8 and responded with 10 points in the opening half. Jones, who finished with 14 points, had a pair of thunderous dunks and displayed a sense of urgency, which had been lacking.
Calipari said the easy buckets by Jones were the result of near-flawless execution on the offensive end of the floor.
“I thought our execution in the first half to get up (by) 10 (points), was as good as its been for this team,” he said.
Brandon Knight turned in his usual performance with 23 points. Knight, a steady presence at the point-guard slot all season, has developed a knack for knocking down the outside shot. Knight has made a combined 13 treys in the past four games.
It was the kind of outing Kentucky has failed to produce on the road. Calipari said the underlying difference was the fact that his “guys performed.”
“I felt we played well today,” he said.
Sometimes that’s all it takes to win on the road.

KENTUCKY (15-4) — Jones 5-13 4-6 14, Harrellson 1-2 0-0 2, Miller 7-12 3-3 18,  Knight 6-10 9-10 23, Liggins 0-7 1-2 1, Hood 0-0 0-0 0,  Polson 0-1 0-0 0, Lamb 1-2 7-8 9, Vargas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 24-29 67.
SOUTH CAROLINA (12-6) — Harris 2-3 0-0 4, Jackson 1-6 0-2 2, Muldrow 7-12 8-10 23,  Richardson 1-9 3-6 6, Ellington 3-11 1-2 8, Smith 1-3 3-3 5,  Galloway 2-9 2-3 6, Cooke 2-3 0-0 4, Slawson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 17-26 58.
Halftime—Kentucky 36-26. 3-Point Goals—Kentucky 3-13 (Knight 2-5,  Miller 1-2, Lamb 0-1, Jones 0-1, Liggins 0-4), South Carolina 3-18  (Muldrow 1-2, Ellington 1-5, Richardson 1-6, Slawson 0-1, Smith 0-2,  Galloway 0-2). Fouled Out—Cooke. Rebounds—Kentucky 34 (Jones, Knight,  Liggins 7), South Carolina 37 (Muldrow 13). Assists—Kentucky 8 (Liggins  3), South Carolina 6 (Ellington 4). Total Fouls—Kentucky 18, South  Carolina 21. Technical—Ellington. A—18,000.