South Carolina, Georgetown win 2nd round NIT games



ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Carlos Powell scored 15 points and Brandon Wallace added a career-best 13 to lead South Carolina to a 77-66 victory over UNLV in the second round of the NIT on Tuesday night.
South Carolina went on a 12-2 run in the middle of the first half to pull away, and the Rebels never recovered.
Every time it looked as if South Carolina (17-13) was going to put the game away, the Rebels hit a timely 3-pointer. The Gamecocks shot 56.3 percent shooting at the free throw line, but they were able to grab some offensive rebounds.
South Carolina shot 38.5 percent from the field in the first half and forced eight steals and limited the Rebels to 33.3 percent shooting.
UNLV (17-14) shot just 2-for-11 from behind the arc in the opening period.
The key run was highlighted by Kelley's steal off an inbounds pass, which led to an easy basket for South Carolina. The Gamecocks led by as many as 16 points in the first half and were up 37-24 at halftime.
Kelley finished with a career-high nine assists.
Romel Beck led UNLV with 21 points.
Georgetown 74,Cal State Fullerton 57
WASHINGTON -- Freshman Jeff Green dominated the paint with 18 points and six blocks, and Georgetown took advantage of an unusual home court advantage.
Green scored eight of Georgetown's first 13 points and essentially had his way against the Titans' undersized frontcourt, making 8-of-11 shots in 23 minutes before fouling out with 4:57 to play. Brandon Bowman made 8-of-10 shots and scored 21 points for the Hoyas (19-12), who shot 55 percent.
Preparations for a circus made the Hoyas' usual home, the MCI Center, unavailable. Georgetown hosted the game on campus in its small McDonough Gymnasium and had a standing-room only crowd of 2,604.
COPYRIGHT 2005 ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN, OR REDISTRIBUTED.