S. Carolina downs Cincinnati in NIT quarterfinals

CINCINNATI — South Carolina left to defend its NIT championship title while Cincinnati headed into the offseason with a new coach.

Tre' Kelley's nine-point outburst early in the second half and go-ahead basket in the final minute led the Gamecocks to a 65-62 victory Thursday night over a Cincinnati team that had two starters declared ineligible just hours before its quarterfinal game.

"Those people who have seen us play, there's no way you could be surprised it was a close game," said South Carolina coach Dave Odom. "All our games are like that."

Kelley finished with 21 points and Tarence Kinsey had 18 for USC (21-15), which will play Louisville in Tuesday's semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York. Old Dominion plays Michigan in the other semi.

The Gamecocks are trying to become the first team to win consecutive NIT championships since St. John's in 1943 and 1944.

Eric Hicks led the short-handed Bearcats (21-13) with 22 points. Athletic director Mike Thomas said after the game that former Bearcats assistant Mick Cronin would leave Murray State to become head coach at Cincinnati. Mississippi also announced it hired Cincinnati's interim coach, Andy Kennedy, to take over its program.

A Cincinnati spokesman, citing an NCAA ruling, declined to say why seniors James White and Jihad Muhammad were declared ineligible. Some players hinted at academic problems.

White, a 6-foot-7 swing player from Washington, was the Bearcats' leading scorer at 16 points a game. Muhammad, a 5-11 guard from Plainfield, N.J., averaged 11 points and was Cincinnati's top 3-point shooting threat.

"They let us down. They let the team down, they let us down," Cincinnati point guard Devon Downey said. "There is no way that team beats us with James and Jihad."

Chadd Moore and Ronald Allen started in place of Muhammad and White. Moore, whose chronic back problems forced him to quit the team for a while last year, received lower back massages from a trainer during timeouts late in the game. He finished with 11 points.

The dismissals of White and Muhammad left Cincinnati with just nine players in uniform. That included Branden Miller, a preseason walk-on, and Connor Barwin, a freshman tight end on the school's football team who volunteered to help two months ago when the Bearcats didn't have enough healthy players to scrimmage.

The Bearcats led 37-33 in the second half when Kelley hit a short jumper and stole a pass under the Cincinnati basket and drove the length of the court for another hoop. He followed that with a 3-pointer and then scored on a putback after another turnover.