Nov. 25, 2005

Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Tarence Kinsey scored 22 points to lead South Carolina back from a 17-point deficit and beat Monmouth 62-56 Friday in the semifinals of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.

Monmouth (1-2) was without top scorer Tyler Azzarelli, who sat out with an injury. That didn’t seem to slow the Hawks, who led 42-25 with 16:00 remaining on their strong outside shooting.

Then the Gamecocks (4-0) came back, going on an 18-2 run that featured three 3-pointers by Kinsey that cut the Hawks’ lead to 44-43 with 10:24 to play.

South Carolina took its first lead of the second half six minutes later on a Kinsey dunk that was fed by Tre’ Kelley, making the score 52-50.

Monmouth briefly regained the lead with an off-balance 3-point shot by Dejan Delic, but Brandon Wallace put the Gamecocks up for good with a tip-in to make it 54-53 with 3:33 to play.

Wallace’s defense helped cement the win when he blocked a Corey Hallett 3-point attempt and then pulled in a key rebound with 39 seconds left.

Wallace finished with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Renaldo Balkman added 14 for the Gamecocks.

Delic led the Hawks with 17 points and Whitney Coleman added 10.

The Hawks took a 33-20 lead into the half, driven by five 3-point shots made by five different players, and Delic’s perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the free throw line.

The Gamecocks started slow, their first half plagued by 10 turnovers and 0-for-7 shooting on 3-pointers. Kinsey, the game’s high scorer, had just four in the first half.

South Carolina will play Marquette in the tournament championship on Saturday. Monmouth will play Oral Roberts in the third-place game.