South Carolina wins Paradise Jam after 83-75 win over Tulsa

By foxsports
Published

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.