By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kentucky's Cliff Hawkins eyes the basket as he drives around South Carolina's Jarod Gerald. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

LEXINGTON - Kentucky again went without style points. But that's not the point.

The Wildcats again spoiled a potentially easy evening with a lackluster finish, but it still counts as a victory. And in the Southeastern Conference this year, those should be gladly accepted, no questions asked.

The 18th-ranked Wildcats used their 62-55 victory Saturday over visiting South Carolina to stretch their winning streak to five games and improve to 11-3, 2-0 in the SEC.

A week after nearly blowing a 19-point, second-half lead against Ohio, they nearly blew a 19-point, second-half lead when the Gamecocks (7-5, 1-1) finally started making shots. UK made no baskets in the final three minutes but got enough mileage out of four free throws to hang on down the stretch.

With this UK team, you take the bad with the good. The Wildcats committed a season-high 22 turnovers Saturday, though 11 of those occurred in the first 12‡ minutes. Their passing was decent, as they totaled 16 assists.

UK shot 48.9 percent and held USC to 38.3 percent, one of the lowest shooting figures by a Wildcat opponent this season.

The Wildcats trailed 13-7 after eight minutes. Then they outscored South Carolina 18-2 over the next 10 minutes, part of a 30-6 run that helped them build an 18-point lead early in the second half.

But once again, the killer instinct went AWOL. Up 19 points with 14 minutes to go, UK let the Gamecocks cut the lead to nine points with 3:18 left.

South Carolina's Kerbrell Brown made three 3-pointers and totaled 13 of his 19 points during that rally.

But after a timeout, UK's Cliff Hawkins fed Marquis Estill inside for a jam, and Estill blocked a Carlos Powell shot on the other end.

When the Gamecocks missed two shots on their next possession, it was essentially over, though the final margin got down to seven points.

Erik Daniels led UK in scoring for just the second time in his career, matching his career high with 19 points. The junior from Princeton High School had 13 points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting, including a rare 3-pointer.

He previously scored 19 points and led the team in his second game as a freshman, against Jacksonville State.

UK, which entered the game ranked last in the SEC in field-goal defense (43.9 percent) and 3-point defense (38.2 percent), was sticky Saturday. It held the Gamecocks to 21.4 percent (6-of-28) on 3-pointers.

The Wildcats are focused on getting off to a good start in SEC play. The schedule seems to be helping. Now 2-0, they'll travel to Vanderbilt (7-5, 1-0 SEC) on Tuesday. After a non-league home game against Notre Dame, they'll face a surprising Auburn team (13-2, 2-0), but fortunately that game's in Rupp Arena.

If they take care of business, they'll be 4-0 in the SEC when they travel to Alabama on Jan. 25.

The Gamecocks were a banged-up bunch. They lost two regulars last week: Big man Marius Petravicius partially tore his anterior cruciate ligament and forward Chris Warren broke an ankle.

Forward Rolando Howell missed 15 days of practice because of a high ankle sprain and suffered mild head trauma Wednesday against Mississippi.

Center Tony Kitchings was playing just his second game since breaking his hand in November.

UK had been struggling to contain opposing big men, but it clamped down on the 6-foot-10, 260-pound Kitchings. He totaled just four points, none after halftime.

UK lost to the Gamecocks 70-57 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals last season, breaking UK's 12-game series winning streak.

SOUTH CAROLINA (7-5)-Powell 8-16 0-0 17, Eidson 4-9 2-2 11, Kitchings 2-5 0-0 4, Kinsey 0-2 0-0 0, Boynton 0-0 0-0 0, Gerald 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 7-13 1-2 19, R.Howell 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 23-60 3-4 55.

KENTUCKY (11-3)-Daniels 9-12 0-0 19, Hayes 0-2 0-0 0, Estill 5-8 2-2 12, Fitch 1-5 5-7 7, Bogans 3-7 2-4 10, Hawkins 1-3 2-2 4, Carrier 0-2 0-0 0, Cote 1-2 0-0 2, Azubuike 1-1 2-2 4, Barbour 1-1 0-0 2, Camara 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 22-45 15-19 62.

Halftime-Kentucky 32-19. 3-Point goals-SCarolina 6-28 (Brown 4-9, Eidson 1-4, Powell 1-5, Kinsey 0-1, Boynton 0-9), Kentucky 3-13 (Bogans 2-5, Daniels 1-1, Hayes 0-1, Hawkins 0-1, Cote 0-1, Fitch 0-2, Carrier 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-SCarolina 28 (Howell 8), Kentucky 34 (Daniels 6). Assists-SCarolina 11 (Eidson 4), Kentucky 16 (Estill 4). Total fouls-SCarolina 16, Kentucky 15. A-23,510.