The second half of the conference schedule is here. Unfortunately for South Carolina men’s basketball, it started the same as the first.

South Carolina came out of its bye week with a tough road game at No. 14 Kentucky, and lost 80-57 at Rupp Arena for its 10th consecutive loss. This is now the program’s longest losing streak since the 1991-92 season, and its longest period in SEC play.

A reeling Kentucky (16-7, 5-5 SEC) team arrived home off back-to-back defeats needing a strong performance to right the ship, and provided one for its home crowd. The Wildcats used an 11-2 run in the first half and an 11-0 run in the second half to extend the lead, holding off South Carolina after it hung around and even had the deficit within single digits midway through the second half.

But like so many games this season, offense doomed South Carolina. When the Gamecocks trailed 33-19 at halftime, sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles had more than half of his team’s points with 10.

Murray-Boyles finished with 14 points and Jacobi Wright added 12, but no other Gamecocks reached double-figures in a familiar script of struggles. South Carolina shot just 32.8 percent from the floor overall and was a dismal 4-of-22 from 3-point range, sinking any chance of staying in the game despite a resilient defensive effort for most of the afternoon.

The Gamecocks held one of the nation’s top offenses to just 33 points in the first half and had the deficit within nine points at 50-41, but the Wildcats ripped off 11 consecutive points to build the lead out to 20 and all but end the contest.

South Carolina will return to Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday for one of just three home games in a road-heavy February, hosting a ranked Ole Miss squad.

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