Feb. 28, 1998
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Jeff Sheppard and No. 7 Kentucky made South Carolinapay for ruining the Wildcats’ 1997 Senior Day, ending the 14th-rankedGamecocks’ 22-game home winning streak 69-57 Saturday.
Kentucky’s seniors (26-4, 14-2 Southeastern Conference) hadn’t lost theirclosing home game in 33 years until South Carolina went to Rupp Arena lastMarch 2 and won 72-66.
There really was nothing at stake in this one. Kentucky had clinched its39th league championship on Wednesday at Auburn. The Wildcats and Gamecocks(21-6, 11-5) head to next week’s SEC tournament as the top two seeds from theEastern Division.
But some memories are hard to forget, and the chance to spoil the Gamecocks’sendoff was enough.
Sheppard scored 24 points, one off his career-high set at Auburn, andHeshimo Evans added 22 for Kentucky, which played without senior starter AllenEdwards. He was at a family funeral.
Sheppard’s basket with 16:29 left put the Wildcats ahead 42-35. When SouthCarolina pulled to 42-40, Sheppard struck again with his fifth 3-pointer.
Evans followed with three straight baskets, and Kentucky led 54-40.
BJ McKie, the SEC’s second-leading scorer, led South Carolina with 21points.
McKie’s spinning shot with 1.2 seconds left pulled out a 78-76 victory overGeorgia this week, and he sparked an 11-2 run by the Gamecocks that drew themto 56-51. But Scott Padgett’s jumper with 3:49 to go gave Kentucky a 58-51lead. South Carolina never got any closer.
The Wildcats were the first team to win at Carolina Coliseum sinceCharleston Southern on Dec. 28, 1996, and the first SEC team to win here sinceAlabama’s 68-67 NIT quarterfinals victory on March 20, 1996.
Sheppard, who had 16 points in Kentucky’s 91-70 victory over the Gamecockson Jan. 13, had that many by halftime Saturday. His four 3-pointers pushed theWildcats to a 30-23 lead with 4:20 left.
McKie’s three-point play and free throws by Melvin Watson and Ryan Stacktrimmed it to 30-29. But Padgett scored the half’s final four points to put theWildcats up by five.
The Gamecocks went more than seven minutes without Watson, making his finalhome start on Senior Day. He was cut over the right eye on an early scrambleand needed four stitches. When Watson returned, South Carolina trailed 16-9.
Watson, who passed Hall of Famer Alex English with his school-record 112thstart, was never on his game, and fouled out with only 9 points.
