ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) Laimonas Chatkevicius scored 17 points, Michael Carrera had 16 points and nine rebounds, and South Carolina beat Tulsa 83-75 on Monday night in the championship game of the Paradise Jam.
South Carolina led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but James Woodard’s 3-point play and Marquel Curtis’ reverse layup pulled Tulsa to 76-71 with 1:53 left. After Carrera answered with a tough layup, Pat Birt made a baseline jumper to make it a five-point game again. But the Gamecocks made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute to seal it.
Sindarius Thornwell scored 16 points for South Carolina, which is 5-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Shaquille Harrison had 20 points for Tulsa (4-1).
South Carolina beat DePaul in the first round, led by Mindaugas Kacinas’s career-high 23 points. In the semifinals, all five Gamecocks starters scored in double figures against previously undefeated Hofstra.
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