COLUMBIA--Antoine Tisby came out of nowhere Tuesday night.
Figuratively.
The South Carolina power forward, left at home for the Gamecocks' last big game and left on the bench most of the season, was one of the big stars in a 73-61 ESPN-televised upset of No. 3 Kentucky.
Literally.
The talented but inconsistent 6-8, 230-pound junior appeared as if on magical cue to block a fastbreak dunk attempt by Kentucky center Randolph Morris as South Carolina was pulling away in the second half.
Most of the people in the Colonial Center crowd of 16,107 roared with approval.
Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith turned almost as blue as his bright Kentucky tie.
Suddenly, Tisby is a major reason why South Carolina is back on the NCAA Tournament bubble that almost popped Saturday night with a 74-71 home loss to struggling Auburn. Averaging 4.2 points coming into the Kentucky game, he tied his career high with 13 points.
Tisby also was a key reason why the Gamecocks showed up Tuesday night so desperate.
"He invigorates us when he commits himself to play," South Carolina head coach Dave Odom said. "But what I'm saying is he does not always do that and has not always done that."
LAST CHANCE TO SHINE
When Tisby signed last year out of Allen County (Kansas) Community College, it looked sweet for South Carolina. Oklahoma State wanted him. Odom thought he had the ideal post-player to compliment 6-7 senior Carlos Powell.
Some early returns were positive. The muscular Tisby had nine rebounds on Dec. 18 in a 64-60 loss at Kansas, not far from where Tisby as a high school senior was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the Kansas City, Kan., school system. But his only other double-figure scoring games came against Appalachian State and Wofford.
Tisby hit bottom on Jan. 29. South Carolina lost at Florida, 80-72. Tisby didn't make the trip, left in Columbia by the coaching staff to ponder his role on the team. Of the five South Carolina games prior to Tuesday night, Tisby did not play in three and did not score in brief appearances in the other two.
Odom delivered an ultimatum before practice on Sunday: "I just told him 'It's time for you, son, to get in the rotation. I don't know how many more chances you're going to get but you're going to get one Tuesday night.'"
Tisby: "He basically just explained to me that the team really needs me for the remainder of the season."
The Gamecocks needed Tisby against Kentucky, and real bad.
The Wildcats have depth inside, including Morris and 6-6, 242-pound Chuck Hayes in the starting lineup and 7-3 Shagari Alleyne and 7-0 Lukasz Obrzut off the bench.
NEW TISBY IN TOWN
South Carolina is far from an NCAA Tournament lock. The Gamecocks, now 14-8 overall and 6-5 in a relatively weak Southeastern Conference, woke up Tuesday No. 76 at collegerpi.com.
But they were also 5-35 against Kentucky.
All those nasty numbers were before the hopefully real Antoine Tisby started playing.
He says to look forward to more performances like 15 points, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot off the bench.
"I'm hoping so," Tisby said. "I'm going to keep working hard in practice and come out and try to do it every game."
Gene Sapakoff may be reached by e-mail at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com, by phone at 937-5593 or by mail at 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C., 29403.
