NIT SEMIFINALS: S. Carolina 75 – Maryland 67

Carlos Powell didn’t like what was happening with he and his teammates as South Carolina saw its NCAA tournament hopes slip away late in the season.

The Gamecocks lost five of their last six games, leaving a quality victory over Kentucky on Feb. 15 as just a distant memory.

“We were getting tight, worried about everything,” Powell said. “But that all changed. Now we’re all loose and laid-back. We’re playing a lot better.”

They have used that new attitude and improved play to advance to tomorrow’s NIT title game after a 75-67 win over Maryland last night at the Garden. The Gamecocks (19-13) will face St. Joseph’s in the final.

“Earlier in the year, we got frustrated a lot,” Powell said. “We didn’t listen to our coaches, we didn’t listen to each other. Now, everything is working.”

Powell, who led the Gamecocks with 17 points and 12 rebounds, was right. In fact, South Carolina is so relaxed, it’s even gotten to the team’s mascot, Cocky. At halftime, the mascot drilled a shot from halfcourt, eliciting one of the loudest cheers from the crowd of 12,657.

As improbable as all of this may have seemed as South Carolina’s season disintegrated down the stretch, Powell insists he saw it coming.

“I knew we had a run in us,” said Powell, who suffered a right forearm sprain but is expected to play tomorrow. “We just had to get have the time to show it.”

They did last night, using a 21-9 first half run to take a 41-27 lead just before halftime. The advantage eventually grew to 18 before Maryland, only three years removed from an NCAA championship, finally made a run.

The Terrapins, trying to make a late attempt to salvage a disappointing season, cut the deficit to nine several times, but never got closer.

“It’s pretty typical of the inconsistent play we’ve had this year,” Maryland head coach Gary Williams said, whose team (19-14) was led by the effort of reserve Mike Jones, who had 15 points.

The more athletic Maryland team actually made more turnovers than South Carolina, who played with confidence throughout. Head coach Dave Odom thinks he knows why his team has been different of late.

“It’s the NIT versus the NCAA,” said Odom, who won an NIT title while coaching at Wake Forest. “They don’t have the weight of the world on their shoulders here.”

They played with an energy that displayed that attitude, showing more aggression than their ACC opponents.

“We started to unravel at the end,” said Tarence Kinsey, who had nine points. “We played like we weren’t comfortable, but we got it back.”

Now they have one more game to show just how far they have come.

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The other Final Four

Maryland, South Carolina, Memphis and St. Joe’s entered last night as the only teams remaining in the battle for the NIT title. Here’s how they got there:

Opening Round

St. Joseph’s 53, Hofstra 44

First Round

South Carolina 69, Miami 67

Memphis 90, Northeastern 65

Maryland 85, Oral Roberts 72

St. Joe’s 55, Buffalo 50

Second Round

Memphis 83, Virginia Tech 62

Saint Joseph’s 68, Holy Cross 60

South Carolina 77, UNLV 66

Maryland 78, Davidson 63

Quarterfinals

Saint Joseph’s 58, Texas A&M 51

Memphis 81, Vanderbilt 68

South Carolina 69, Georgetown 66

Maryland 85, Texas Christian 73

Semifinals

Last night

At Madison Square Garden

Saint Joseph’s 70, Memphis 58

South Carolina 75, Maryland 67

Championship

Saint Joseph’s (24-11) vs. South Carolina (19-13), 7 p.m.