PAGE 3    THE CATS'  PAUSE, DECEMBER  18,   1976
Worst SC Defeat In Carolina Coliseum
Givens Pumps Home 28, Phillips 23 As Cats Destroy Gamecocks
Jack "Goose" Givens poured home 28 points like eating apple pie and huge Mike Phillips went to war for 23 points as the Kentucky Wildcats destroyed South Carolina 98-67 Monday night in the worst defeat the Gamecocks have ever suffered on their Carolina Coliseum court.
Coach Joe B. Hall's Wildcats reeled off ten straight points before South Carolina could dent the scoreboard and the game was never in doubt thereafter.
Super shooting from the field and another great defensive effort enabled the Wildcats to waltz to their fifth straight win of the season without a loss.
Just prior to the game, Kentucky was elevated to the nation's number three spot in the Associated Press rankings and the Wildcats left no doubters in Columbia.
Hall, in his post game comments, admitted that he may have estimated his own Wildcats earlier this season.
"I've underestimated our team and I'm ready to admit it," said Hall, "we've watched them so much in practice, we just haven't noticed the improvement of our players. They all have matured so much since last season.
After the early 10-point lead, Kentucky sizzled the nets and took a 25-9 lead when freshman Jay Shidler stole the ball and raced in for a lay-up. After that, South Carolina could get no closer than 12 points.
With Givens ripping the nets for 20 points on ten field goals during the first twenty minutes, the Gamecocks of coach Frank McGuire were left in awe.
Kentucky employed a tight man-toman defense and South Carolina guards were just trying to prevent bad passes and loose balls.
Phillips, who presented Hall with a great performance inside, finished the night with 23 points and dominated the middle while connecting on seven of eight free throw attempts, a rarity for Kentucky this season.
South Carolina officials were numb after the 31-point thrashing and called the Kentucky exhibition the best ever displayed on the nme-year-old Carolina Coliseum floor.
"It was real good to come down here and play the way we did,'' said Phillips
after the contest, "we seem to be going real good right now. I thought I could go inside on them and it worked out pretty good.
Asked about the club's new ranking of number three in the nation, Phillips commented, "it took a lot of hard work to get there but it's going to take even more to stay there."
Just about everyone had a super night for the Wildcats. Larry Johnson, showing the confidence he likes to talke about, fired in 16 points and dazzled the crowd of more than 10,000 with his behind-the-back dribbling and ballhandling tactics.
Jay Shidler pitched in with a superb floor game and 10 points, while all ten
KENTUCKY
Player	FG	FT	PF	TPS
Jack Givens	\k	0-0	1	28
Rick Robey	2	0-0	5	4
Mike Phillips	8	7-8	3	23
Jay Shidler	4	2-2	4	10
Larry Johnson	8	o-o	2	16
Dwane Casey	l	o-o	0	9 i.
James Lee	2	I-2	- 5	5
LaVon Willi ams	l	0-2	2	2
Tim Stephens	3	0-2	1	6
Merion Haskins	I	0-0	0	2
TOTALS	44	10-16	23	98
SOUTH CAROLINA jpfe
PI ayer	FG	FT	PF	TPS
Billy Tru i tt	0	o-o	1	0
Jim G raz i ano	6	4-9	2	16
Nate Davis	2	2-2	. 1	6
Chuck Sherwood	0	0-0	4	0
Mike Doyle	0	o-o	1	0
Bill Gause	2	o-o	0	4
Kenny Reynolds	2	o-o	0	4
Jack i e G i11oon	6	5-7	5	17
Kar1 ton H i1 ton	4	2-2	2	10
Brian Grevey	1	0-0	0	2
Mark Connaughton	0	1-2	1	1
Go 1i e Augus tus	2	3-k	3	7
TOTALS	25	17-26	20	67
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY		52	46 -	-- 98
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH	CAROL	NA 34	33 -	- 67
Wildcats on the trip hit the scoring column.
In the first half, Kentucky scored 52 points on twenty-five field goals and a pair of free throws. At that point, the Wildcats held command of a comfortable 52-34 score.
Jim Gilloon came on strong for the Gamecocks in the final half with 11 points and finished with 17 for the night while Jim Graziano, the highly publicized freshman, added 16.
The loss was only the tenth in 110 games at South Carolina's current home. The win gave the Wildcats a 5-1 overall mark over South Carolina in the series.
The victory improved Kentucky's record to 5-0 while South Carolina fell to 1-3 on the season.
Next on the agenda for the Wildcats is a date with Bowling Green of Ohio in the second half of the opening round of the University of Kentucky Invitational Tournament Friday night at the Rupp Arena.
Utah will meet West Virginia in the opening game at 7 p.m. The two losers will pair off for the consolation title Saturday at 7 p.m. followed by the championship battle.
Hall, who now feels that just about anything is possible for his Wildcats, called the Monday night effort, "great.''
"Jack is jumping better than ever," explained the UK head mentor, "James, Larry and even Mike all have the confidence they needed a year ago. They have really matured."
"The defense was excellent and is playing better and better," said Hall, "but we've got to be prepared for every game on our schedule. Every one seems to be a little tougher, but that's the way I like it."
After the UKIT this weekend, the basketball Wildcats will have a few days off for the Christmas holidays before returning to prepare for a December 30 date with Notre Dame in Louisville's Freedom Hall.
Then after that, it's into the tough Southeastern Conference schedule where every game is a big one.
UK athletics director Cliff Hagan says there is still plenty of tickets available for the UKIT this Friday and Saturday and they can be purchased at the Memorial Coliseum ticket office.