Denzel Aberdeen scored 19 points, including four-of-six from behind the arc, to lead the Cats. Mo Dioubate came off the bench to score 12, while Andrija Jelavic added 11 and Collin Chandler had 10.
Kentucky (18-10, 9-6 Southeastern Conference) dominated the rebounding battle, claiming 48 board to just 28 for South Carolina. UK had 14 second-chance points compared to just four for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina scored first on a three, but Chandler answered to tie the game. The Gamecocks responded by scoring the next six to lead 9-3. An Aberdeen basket got UK within four, but South Carolina hit another three to lead 12-5.
Layups from Jelavic and Otega Oweh got the Cats within three but South Carolina scored the next three to lead 15-9. UK got baskets from Oweh and Dioubate got the Cats within two, and an Aberdeen three gave Kentucky its first lead, 16-15. The next time down, Aberdeen struck again from three, and the UK lead was four.
Aberdeen hit another three to close out the 13-0 run that gave the Cats a 22-15 lead. The Gamecocks scored the next three, but Jelavic on two straight possessions to give the Cats a 26-18 advantage. After a South Carolina free throw, Malachi Moreno made a pair at the line to stretch the lead to nine. The Gamecocks scored the final two points of the half, but Kentucky led 28-21 at the half. Aberdeen led all scorers with 11 points in the first 20 minutes.
South Carolina started the second half with a 7-0 run to tie the game. However, Jelavic hit a three, then scored on a layup to give the Cats a 33-28 lead. The Gamecocks scored the next four to get within one.
Aberdeen hit another three and Oweh made two free throws to give UK a 38-32 lead. South Carolina responded again, scoring six in a row to tie the game. A Brandon Garrison three-point play gave UK a 41-38 lead, but South Carolina hit a three to tie the game again.
Dioubate converted a three-point play to give the Cats the lead back. Dioubate scored again to extend the lead to 46-41. The Gamecocks scored to get within three but Moreno answered and UK led 48-43. South Carolina then scored five in a row to tie the game at 48-48.
Oweh scored on a driving layup to give Kentucky the lead back, and Moreno hit two free throws to give the Cats a 52-48 lead. After a South Carolina bucket, Aberdeen scored in the lane and Kentucky led by four again. Dioubate made one-of-two at the line to extend the lead to 55-50, the Chandler scored on a dunk to make the lead seven. South Carolina made two free throws to get within five.
Dioubate scored underneath again but the Gamecocks scored five in a row to cut the UK lead to 59-57. Kentucky then got a layup from Moreno and a three from Chandler to lead seven with 1:51 left. Two Aberdeen free throws made it a nine-point margin and a Dioubate dunk made it 68-57 with one minute to play.
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, hosting Vanderbilt at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.