Gamecocks spring the trap game

COLUMBIA -- Colonial Life Arena rocked deep into Tuesday night at the perfect confluence of Devan Downey, peak crowd support and Kentucky youth.

Years from now, lying Gamecock fans will say they were among the fortunate 18,000.

Even some of those present were not believers. Some were fans of undefeated and No. 1-ranked Kentucky, some were South Carolina fans unconvinced until the Gamecock audiotape crowed at almost midnight.

The Gamecocks didn't just win, 68-62.

They beat slick CEO John Calipari, freshman sensation John Wall and a team feeling very good about itself after an afternoon chit-chat with President Barack Obama.

Other than that, it was only one of the greatest victories in Gamecock basketball history.

The "Please stay off the floor!" plea didn't work.

"You have to give credit to them," Calipari said of gritty South Carolina. "They just played to the bitter end."

This wasn't supposed to be like last year when South Carolina swept Kentucky during a season in which the Wildcats missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991.

It was supposed to be like the Southeastern Conference old days, a ho-hum trip to Columbia.

'Told you so'

But Downey, 5-9 and consistently terrific, outplayed likely NBA lottery picks Wall and Patrick Patterson. For all the crazy spin moves and clutch shots on the way to 30 points, he did plenty of other stuff, too.

A drive and a dish to Sam Muldrow for a key dunk in the first half.

A steal to set up Brandis Raley-Ross for a 3-pointer in the second half.

Downey during the final seconds was shouting "I told you so" to friends in the crowd.

"Let's be honest, no one thought we had a chance," said the senior All-America candidate from Chester.

Kentucky, for all its talent, has three freshmen starters. The Wildcats hadn't played in front of such a large crowd this season.

"That was a hostile environment out there for a freshman," Downey said.

Calipari spent lots of the night yelling and screaming, mostly at his players.

"As I sat there and watched it unfold, I said 'This is what happens to a young team,' " Calipari said.

By design, of course. Darrin Horn has worked with South Carolina students to develop the kind of genuine enthusiasm on display before the nation Tuesday night, and he relished the edge.

"I can't believe there's a better student crowd," the second-year head coach said. "They were awesome."

Call from Obama

Kentucky is a fireball of intrigue.

But Wall is a one-year wonder headed for the New Jersey Nets or some other gosh-awful NBA team as the very first pick in the 2010 draft.

Both of the teams Calipari guided to the Final Four, Massachusetts and Memphis, had to vacate their appearances after being hit with major NCAA rules violations.

It's important to point out that Calipari was not personally implicated in the Massachusetts mess or Memphis mess, but such messiness probably warrants a warning label attached to the back of the sport coat: May be harmful to the reputation of your program.

For now, the ridiculously well-paid coach is quite popular across the Bluegrass State. And beyond. Obama phoned Colonial Life Arena at the Kentucky shootaround Tuesday to thank the team for its Hoops for Haiti fundraiser.

During the conference call, Wall challenged the president to a game of HORSE.

"I'm not going to play HORSE with you," Obama said. "I don't want to lose, and then you'll have bragging rights for a long time."

By the way, South Carolina's head coach is a Lexington-area Kentuckian who is 3-0 against the Wildcats. For now, Horn and the Gamecocks have the braggin' rights.

Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5593.