S. Carolina reaches NIT semifinals

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Carlos Powell scored 21 points and Tre Kelley added 12 in the second half to lead South Carolina to a 69-66 victory over Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the NIT on Thursday night.

The Hoyas (19-13) had two chances to tie the game late but Darrel Owens and Jeff Green each missed 3-pointers with less than 30 seconds remaining.

The Gamecocks held off a furious Georgetown rally in which Owens hit three 3-pointers in the final 2:55. His 4-point play cut South Carolina's lead to 64-63 with 47.8 seconds to go.

But Kelley hit two free throws to put the Gamecocks back on top 66-63 with 43.1 seconds to go.

Tarence Kinsey's free throw with 19.8 seconds left put South Carolina (18-13) ahead 67-63. Antoine Tisby grabbed the offensive rebound on the second attempt, and the Gamecocks killed more time off the clock.

South Carolina will face the winner of Saturday's Texas-Christian-Maryland game in the semifinals in New York. Saint Joseph's and Memphis will play in the other semifinal next Tuesday night.

It's South Carolina's second trip to Madison Square Garden in the past four years under coach Dave Odom.

Kelley's 3-pointer from the corner gave the Gamecocks a 49-47 advantage with 9:51 left, their first lead since they were ahead 11-10 midway through the first half. Kelley's 3 came in the middle of a 17-2 run that put South Carolina ahead 57-49 with 4:56 to play. The Hoyas went 6:19 without a basket and had several turnovers during the game-changing run.

South Carolina scored the first six points of the second half to trail 34-32, but Georgetown went back up by eight with 15:16 to go.

Owens had 16 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, and the Hoyas shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. But Georgetown couldn't find its touch in the second half, shooting just 48.3 percent from long range. Owens finished with 26 points, 7-of-11 on 3-pointers.

Owens is averaging just 6.6 points a game, but he had a season-best 17 against Boston in the first round of the NIT.

Standouts Green and Bowman, who both average in double figures, were held to a combined five points in the first half. Bowman added five points early in the second half, but both he and Green had picked up three fouls by the 12:05 mark. Bowman finished with 12 points.

The Gamecocks, led by Powell's 12 points in the first half, trailed 34-26 after shooting 58.8 percent from the field. South Carolina was slowed by poor free throw shooting (54.5 percent) and seven turnovers.

Powell scored the Gamecocks' first 10 points in the opening 7:35.