Laimonas Chatkevicius scored 17 points to lead South Carolina to an 83-75 victory over Tulsa in the championship game of the Paradise Jam on Monday at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Chatkevicius, a senior forward, also scored 17 in a 94-84 victory over Hofstra in Sunday's semifinals.

Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell contributed 16 points and five steals and senior forward Michael Carrera added 16 points and nine rebounds for South Carolina (5-0).

The Gamecocks are off to their best start since 2003-04, when they opened 8-0.

Shaquille Harrison, a senior guard who scored 24 against Indiana State in the semifinals, had 20 points and six rebounds to pace Tulsa (4-1).

Golden Hurricane senior guard James Woodard scored 18 points and senior guard Marquel Curtis added 11.

South Carolina led by 17 in the opening period before settling for a 38-29 lead at halftime. Harrison and Curtis combined for 13 points to help cut the deficit to 54-50 with 12:34 to play, but the Gamecocks scored seven straight to rebuild their lead.