South Carolina's Chuck Eidson looks to pass after falling to the floor under the defense of Ball State's Chris Williams. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina closed Frank McGuire Arena in a style the late coach would have loved, beating Ball State 82-47 in the NIT quarterfinals Thursday night.

        The Gamecocks (21-14) won for the first time in five appearances in the tournament quarterfinals.

        But on the night when the Carolina Coliseum, whose court was named for McGuire, saw its final game after 34 years of use, South Carolina was not going to be kept out of another building their late coach loved dearly — Madison Square Garden.

        South Carolina faces Syracuse on Tuesday night in the NIT semifinals.

        Jamel Bradley led South Carolina with 17 points, while Chuck Eidson and Carlos Powell had 15 apiece. But it was the Gamecocks' incredible first-half defensive effort that sunk Ball State (23-12).

        South Carolina had lost its last three regular-season games to fall off the NCAA Tournament bubble. The team since has won five of six.

        The Cardinals looked like a guaranteed NCAA tournament team after opening the season with victories over Kansas and UCLA in the Maui Invitational. But they struggled to fined the basket with the Gamecocks always around the ball.

        Ball State started 1-of-8 to fall behind 14-2 less than five minutes in. Things would only get worse.

        The Cardinals ended the half with 15 turnovers and only five field goals. They trailed 48-12 at the break, their lowest-scoring half of the season.

        Patrick Jackson, Chris Williams and Theron Smith, who averaged about 56 points a game combined, ended the period with six points on 2-of-17 shooting. Smith led Ball State with 12 points.

        The Cardinals came in 38-of-77 on threes in their three NIT games. But they went a horrible 3-of-20 from long range.

        This game was over early. Chuck Eidson had a 3-pointer and a basket as South Carolina went up 7-0. Tony Kitchings added two foul shots, Rolando Howell had a dunk and Bradley a long three for the 14-2 margin.

        Ball State coach Tim Buckley tried to bring life to his tired team — the Cardinals went directly from their second-round win at LSU Tuesday night to Columbia — with a quick time out at the 18:49 mark.

        However, nothing worked. The closest Ball State came after halftime was 60-30 on Smith's basket with 12:14 remaining.

        The rest of the game was a giddy celebration for the crowd of 10,307 that next year will sit in an 18,000-seater under construction a block away.

        One fan asked his fiance to marry him. She said yes.

        The fans then called for South Carolina coach Dave Odom to put in freshman John Chappell, who's played only five minutes since December. Odom complied to loud cheers.

        Ball State's Buckley simply leaned against the table next to his bench as time and the season ran out.

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