LEXINGTON, Ky. — An ugly first half turned into a poised second half as South Carolina (4-2, 1-2 SEC) grinded out a 24-14 win over Kentucky.

The win was just South Carolina’s second over Kentucky (4-2, 1-2 SEC) in its last nine tries, and represented its first road SEC victory of the Shane Beamer era. It is also the program’s first three-game winning streak since 2017.

But it did not come easy.

Despite Kentucky turning the ball over on the first offensive snap of the — a fumble David Spaulding forced and Tonka Hemingway returned to the Kentucky 2 — South Carolina struggled to retain the early momentum.

A first quarter with four false starts, a blocked punt, a red zone fumble and a field goal off the upright were the lowlights of a first quarter both teams would want back, but South Carolina came out of it with a 7-0 lead thanks to a two-yard touchdown run from MarShawn Lloyd.

The Gamecocks had the ball in plus territory five times in the first half, but only came away with seven points thanks to a pair of turnovers and a shaky Spencer Rattler performance. Eventually, the Wildcats took advantage and tied the game on Kaiya Sheron’s first career touchdown pass. The backup quarterback playing for the injured Will Levis hit receiver Jordan Dingle on a 16-yard touchdown pass.

From there though, the defense shut the door. After only recording five sacks in the first five games of the season, the defense picked up six crucial ones to help stall out possessions. Kentucky only gained 34 yards of offense the entire decisive third quarter and averaged less than one yard per rush.

And the improved defense gave Rattler a chance to make amends for his first half, and he delivered with a crisp performance. He led the offense down the field on its first drive of the second half, connecting with Antwane Wels Jr. on a 43-yard bubble screen that gave South Carolina a lead it never relinquished.

His next time on the field saw the offense eat nearly half a quarter worth of game clock and add another three points. The 14-play, 70-yard, 7:01 march included a crucial throw to Jalen Brooks on a third down crossing pattern, and made it a two-score game.

And when Lloyd took a burst 45 yards on the opening play of a drive with just over eight minutes to go, South Carolina set itself up to throw the knockout punch. It was the most explosive play of Lloyd’s 110-yard game, holding his own in the running back battle with Chris Rodriguez Jr, who finished with 126 yards.

On a second-and-7 play from the Kentucky 24 coming out of a timeout, Jalen Brooks took the ball on an end around all the way to the end zone to send Kentucky fans to the exits. Wells Jr. threw a huge downfield block to clear the lane, and his burst officially made it a three-score game.

South Carolina will look for its first four-game winning streak since 2013 when it hosts Texas A&M in two weeks coming out of its bye week.