PAGE 13    THE CATS' PAUSE, DECEMBER 10, 1977
SEC SCORES
TOitcUaU RoM Pott fattecacfo X4-65
Kentucky Wildcats gave their former great basketball coach, Adolph Rupp, their own kind of tribute Monday night as the Cats pounded out an 84-65 triumph over South Carolina's Gamecocks before 23,472 fans at Rupp Arena.
Just a few hundred yards away, the body of the famed Kentucky coach lay at a local funeral home as fans from all across the country paid their final respects to the collegiate coach who had won more games than anyone else.
"It was a game in which the Cats wanted to win more than any other, said Kentucky mentor Joe B. Hall: "We certainly did not want to lose, especially this one."
Prior to the game, there was a brief moment of silence in memory of the man for whom the arena was named. Then, Rupp's voice came across the public address system, reciting his favorite poem, Kipling's "L'envoy."
In the background, in row one of Section 31, sat the famous blue chair --silently empty -- which was presented to the Baron during the dedication game with Kansas last season.
The brief ceremony put emphasis on the importance of the game and Hall admitted he talked with his team about the importance of the game, with respect to Rupp, while the club was in the dressing room before the tip-off.
With Rick Robey, Jack Givens and Kyle Macy leading the way, Kentucky exploded midway in the second half to break up an otherwise close contest with Frank McGuire's Fightin Gamecocks.
Kentucky was leading by only 38-35 at the half, as both team played a nip-and-tuck battle hitting torrid percentages from the field. South Carolina hit better than 70 percent and Kentucky better than 60 percent.
But the Wildcats outscored South Carolina 18-4 in one streak and that was the game as the Cats' long outside shotting, mostly from a confident young sophomore by the name of Kyi Macy who pumped home six of seven from the field and scored 18 points on the night.
Another big reason was the cooling off of South Carolina at the free throw line. The Gamecocks hit 15 of 16 the first half, but managed only 4 of 12 the final twenty minutes.
With less than fourteen minutes left in the game, South Carolina closed to within three at 47-44, shortly after Mike Phillips was sent to the sidelines with his fifth personal foul. Coach Joe Hall had been trying frantically to get Phillips' replacement in before the disqualifying personal.
With the score 47-44, Kentucky went on a typical scoring rampage, reeling off 12 points to only a free throw for South Carolina. Jack Givens' pair of free throws with 9:33 left pushed Kentucky in front by 59-45,
and the game was practically decided.
South Carolina,  which played at times like it was satisfied with just a close score, could get no closer than ten the remainder of the contest. The win improved Kentucky's re-
SOUTH CAROLINA  65
PLAYER	FG	FT	REB	PF	TPS	A	TO	MIN
K. Hilton	5-7	1-1	5	1	1 1	0	I	34
C. Augustus	4-5	1-2	3	5	9	2	2	26
J. G raz i ano	4-10	4-4	5	5	12	3	4	34
M. Doyle	7-10	2-8	1	3	16	1	1	24
J. Gil loon	3-6	2-2	2	4	8	7	9	37
K. Dunleavy	o-o	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	2
K. Reynolds	0-0	9-11	1	2	9	2	1	27
R. Wejnert	o-o	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	8
S. Harty	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	2
M. Connaughto	n 0-0	0-0	0	3	0	0	0	5
Z. F red ri ck	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Team Rebounds			2					
TOTALS	23-38	19-28	19	25	65	15	20	200
KENTUCKY-					84			
PLAYER	FG	FT	REB	PF	TPS	A	TO	MIN
J . G i vens	7-14	4-6	5	1	18	9	1	38
R. Robey	4-7	11-17	11	2	19	1	1	37
M. Phi 11ips	2-3	0-0	3	5	4	0	2	13
K. Macy	6-7	6-6	0	2	18	5	1	39
T. Claytor	3-6	0-0	0	4	6	2	1	18
D. Casey	1-2	0-0	1	5	2	2	0	11
J . Sh i d1er	0-3	0-0	0	2	0	1	3	10
T. Stephens	0-0	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	2
J . Lee	5-8	0-0	9	1	10	2	0	18
F. Cowan	0-0	1-2	0	0	1	0	0	1
C . Aleksi nas	3-3	0-0	1	1	6	0	2	9
L. Willi ams	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	3
Team Rebounds			1					
TOTALS	31-53	22-32	32	26	84	22	11	200
UNIVERSITY OF	SOUTH CAROLINA			35		30	----	65
UNIVERSITY OF	KENTUCKY			38		46	----	84
Officials: Jack Manton and Leonard Wirtz Attendance: 23,472
cord to a perfect 4-0 as the Wildcats retained their No. 1 national Associated Press ranking again this week.
The Wildcats now prepare for the great Freeman Williams and Portland State in the second hall of the University of Kentucky Invitational Tournament Friday night at Rupp Arena. Seatde and St. John's open the tourney at 7 p.m.
Robey led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points, followed by Givens and Macy with 18 each. Reserve James Lee came off the bench and sparked the Cats during the second half spurt and had two beautiful tip-ins near the end of the contest, finishing his night's work with 10 points.
While Robey wasn't getting his usual 15 shots per game, he made up for it on the backboards as he hauled down 17 rebounds to lead both teams. Givens and Mike Phillips, who played only 13 minutes because of foul problems, had six each.
Kentucky cooled off a little the final half, but still connected on a very good 51.8 percent form the floor, hitting 31 of 53 attempts.
South Carolina was burning the nets on open court. The Gamecocks hit 22 of 37 for a scorching 59.5 percentage. One big difference was in the turnover department, where the Gamecocks were forced into 20 mistakes. Kentucky, playing its best floor game, made only 11.
The Wildcats outrebounded South Carolina 32-18 on the boards.
Hall, commenting on the importance of the game, added, "It was a very special night for us. We certainly did not want to get beat on this night especially. But I'm not sure how much pressure was on us."
Rick Robey is a young man who has been caught up in Kentucky tradition ever since he set foot on the UK campus almost four years ago. And he expressed the feeling of most Ken-tuckians about the loss of Rupp.
"He had to be a great man. I personally didn't know him that well, but I remember talking with him my freshman year and he had a lot to do with me playing in the Pan American Games two years ago. I'll always remember him for that," said Robey. "We're all going to the funeral together and then we're looking forward to making this a season to remember for Kentucky. We're going to go out and do our best to keep Coach Rupp's tradition and Coach Hall's tradition going."
To which the legendary Rupp probably would have replied, "That's very  nice   of  him   to   say that."