Kenny Gaines leads Georgia Bulldogs to 73-56 win over South Carolina Gamecocks

Feb 22, 2014; Columbia, SC, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Kenny Gaines (12) and Georgia Bulldogs forward Marcus Thornton (2) react to a call against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at The Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

It was the Kenny Gaines show in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, and we were all just spectators. The sophomore from Atlanta scored a career-high 27 points, and in the process, led Mark Fox’s club to yet another impressive win in conference with a 73-56 decision over the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Gaines scored those 27 points on just 14 shot attempts (converting 9 of them), and he was deadly from long distance, knocking down 5-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc. It wasn’t exactly a shock to see Gaines do this kind of work in the scoring department due to the fact that he’s the 2nd-leading scorer for Georgia, but with the team’s leading shot-maker, Charles Mann, having an ice-cold day at 1-for-10 from the floor, Gaines’ contributions were huge.

Heading into halftime, the Dawgs were locked in a 34-34 battle, but in the opening minutes of the second half, UGA would pull away for good. The road team began the half on a decisive, 16-1 run, and from there, it was virtually a cruise-control win to grab their 9th conference victory of the season. On the surface, knocking off a subpar South Carolina team isn’t the most noteworthy event, but winning on the road in conference is never easy (Las Vegas made USC a favorite in the game), and the way that Georgia was able to run away and hide in this one was extremely impressive.

Now at 9-5 in conference and sitting in sole possession of 3rd place in the SEC standings, Georgia will look to improve that mark as they host Missouri on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Stay tuned.