South Carolina Repeats as NIT Champ

Tarence Kinsey scored 21 points and Tre’ Kelley had 20 and seven assists to help South Carolina beat Michigan, 76-64, Thursday night at New York to become the second team to win consecutive NIT championships.

“When you look at the leadership Tarence had, you’ll have to go back a long way to find a player who has had more success in the NIT than Kinsey has had in two years,” Coach David Odom said of his senior, who made the game-winning shot last year in South Carolina’s victory over St. Joseph’s.

Renaldo Balkman added 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Odom equaled Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick, who won titles in 1943 and 1944, when the NIT was more prestigious than the NCAA tournament.

With four starters back from last year, the Gamecocks (23-15) had hoped for an NCAA tournament berth but lost their shot at an automatic bid with a 49-47 loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference tournament title game.

Daniel Horton, MVP of the 2004 NIT, scored 18 points for Michigan (22-10), which failed to to win its second championship in three years.

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San Diego State junior forward Marcus Slaughter declared for the NBA draft and hired an agent, eliminating any chance of him returning to school. Slaughter, who averaged 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds, also declared for the draft after last season before withdrawing.

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Kristy Curry was hired by Texas Tech to replace Marsha Sharp as women’s coach, leaving Purdue with a 179-51 record after making the NCAA tournament in each of her seven seasons there. Curry, 39, signed a five-year contract worth at least $425,000 the first year.