Oscar Tshiebwe posted his sixth straight double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds and TyTy Washington Jr. scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half as No. 5 Kentucky beat South Carolina 86-76 on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (20-4, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) reached 20 victories in a season for the 13th time in the past 14 years. But they had to recover after squandering an 11-point lead to the Gamecocks (13-10, 4-7) early in the final 20 minutes.
Kentucky had lost its previous two games at South Carolina and when Keyshawn Bryant’s bucket tied things at 43-all with 15 minutes left, it appeared the Wildcats might have to sweat out another at Colonial Life Arena.
Instead, Kentucky went on a 15-2 burst fueled by Tshiebwe and Washington, both who played limited first-half minutes due to foul trouble.
