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South Carolina repeats as NIT champ

South Carolina's Tre' Kelly, right, drives past Michigan's Chris Hunter during the second half of the National Invitational Tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday. Kelley scored 20 points as South Carolina won 76-64 for their second consecutive NIT title. PHOTO: AP

For the first time in more than 60 years, the National Invitation Tournament has a repeat champion -- South Carolina.

Renaldo Balkman, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player, had 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Gamecocks successfully defended their title Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, defeating Michigan 76-64 in the championship game.

At the final buzzer, the victors raised their arms in the air and smiled widely. South Carolina (23-15) had no band, and only two of its cheerleaders attended the game. But team spirit was in abundance.

"For a team to do that, it's just great," Gamecocks guard Tre' Kelley said. The scene was a virtual rerun of the postgame celebration after last year's final, when South Carolina beat St. Joseph's.

The only other team to repeat at the NIT was St. John's, the champion in 1943 and 1944.

Michigan was aiming for its second title in three years, having beaten Rutgers in the 2004 final.

South Carolina never trailed, taking a 12-point lead at halftime that swelled to 18 points midway through second half.

The Gamecocks were quicker on both sides of the ball. On offense, they looked crisp, finding the open man with extra passes. On defense, they pressured Michigan into numerous turnovers.

Balkman, a forward, dominated inside, scoring on open dunks and even leading the break. He also finished with six blocks and three first-half steals. Kelley and

Tarence Kinsey seemed to cover every corner of the court on defense.

Kelley hit three 3-pointers early in the second half to keep Michigan at bay. He finished with 20 points; Kinsey had a game-high 21.

South Carolina's season was filled with triumph and disappointment. The Gamecocks went 6-10 in the Southeastern Conference but reached the conference tournament's final, losing by two points to Florida, now a Final Four team in the NCAA tournament.

After receiving a No. 3 seeding in the NIT, the Gamecocks played with renewed vigor, beating Western Kentucky and Florida State in the first two rounds before knocking off three top-seeded teams, Cincinnati, Louisville and Michigan.

The Gamecocks probably would have preferred to play in the NCAA tournament, but another NIT championship was the next best thing.

The winner of the NCAA tournament's final, to be played on Monday night, will be the only other Division I team to end the postseason with a victory.

South Carolina coach Dave Odom did not guarantee a victory, but he promised that his players would use every ounce of energy they had during the final. That proved to be good enough.

Before a Garden that appeared to be less than half full, Michigan was tentative early and South Carolina capitalized with numerous steals. After eight minutes, the Gamecocks led by 18-8.

Michigan eventually found its rhythm, going on a 7-0 run to close the gap to 24-21.

With 5 minutes 17 seconds remaining before halftime, Balkman blocked Brent Petway's shot, collected the loose ball and swung his elbows. Petway retaliated by shoving Balkman to the ground, which the officials ruled a flagrant foul.

The play sparked South Carolina, which went into halftime leading by 39-27.

Michigan got off to a 16-3 start this season, then sustained several injuries. Before the NIT, the Wolverines lost seven of nine games, including an opening-round loss in the Big Ten Conference tournament that kept them out of the NCAA tournament.

Michigan (22-11) started five seniors, and they ended their college careers with more disappointment.

Daniel Horton led the Wolverines with 18 points.

Shawn Marion scored 29 points, Steve Nash nearly had a triple-double, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Indiana Pacers 114-104 in the NBA on Thursday to snap a two-game losing streak.

Nash finished with 15 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points and reserve Danny Granger added 16 for the Pacers, who were again without Jermaine O'Neal to start the game and watched their injury woes grow during it.

The Pacers played uninspired basketball despite watching Reggie Miller's jersey retirement ceremony at halftime. Indiana (35-36) has lost six of its last eight games.

O'Neal was inactive after aggravating his groin injury this week. Stephen Jackson sprained his ankle in the second quarter and did not return, and center Scot Pollard missed the second half with a sore foot.

Spurs 96, Lakers 85

At Los Angeles, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Tony Parker added 19 points and six assists, and San Antonio took command in the third quarter to beat Los Angeles.

Nazr Mohammed and Robert Horry each added 12 points, Manu Ginobili had 11 and Bruce Bowen scored 10 for the Spurs, who outscored Los Angeles 33-9 to finish the third quarter for an 18-point lead. The Lakers committed eight of their 18 turnovers in the period.

The win was the eighth in 10 games for the defending NBA champion Spurs (56-16), who lead the Western Conference by two games over the Dallas Mavericks with 10 remaining in the regular season.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 23 points and seven rebounds, but he shot just 9-of-26 and scored only seven points after halftime.

The NBA pulled out of negotiations on Thursday between the Portland Trail Blazers and Rose Garden owners intended to help sell the team and its home arena.

Last month, Blazers owner Paul Allen said the team was hemorrhaging money and appealed for a public partnership to keep it afloat. Allen suggested he may have to sell the team if a solution could not be found.

Representatives for Allen met with city and state officials, but the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft had expressed frustration with the owners of the Rose Garden.

The arena was originally financed by Allen without public money. But the team's sister company, Oregon Arena Corp, declared bankruptcy in 2004 and Allen chose to give up ownership rather than continue to pay interest on construction debt.

As a result, team revenue has declined sharply, along with ticket sales, down by a third from five years ago.

Reggie Miller

The chant of "Reg-gie! Reg-gie!" rang out one last time as Reggie Miller pulled a rope that raised a No. 31 banner into the rafters of Conseco Fieldhouse as the Indiana Pacers retired his jersey number on Thursday.

"I never imagined that I would earn my way to anyone's rafters," he said.
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