Ryan Amoroso scored a career-high 30 points and had 12 rebounds off the bench, but it was the sophomore forward's timely defensive play that decided the outcome of the Great Alaska Shootout championship against South Carolina.

With his team up 90-89 and less than 10 seconds left in overtime, Amoroso came off his defender to challenge a shot from the Gamecocks' Tre' Kelley and then barged into a sea of players to snatch the rebound.

Amoroso subsequently hit two foul shots, Kelley missed a three-pointer as time expired and Marquette (4-1) escaped Anchorage on Saturday night with a 92-89 victory.

Senior Steve Novak hit six of 10 three-pointers and had 28 points to earn tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, but the tour-de-force performance of the previously inconspicuous sophomore caught the eyes of most fans.

Amoroso scored nine points in overtime, including a three-point play following an offensive rebound that put Marquette ahead 90-89 with 27 seconds left. His first-half contributions were crucial as well, for the Golden Eagles faced their largest deficit of the game at 27-19 before Amoroso scored five consecutive points.

He had averaged just 6.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game off the bench in the team's first four games.

Amoroso picked a convenient time for a breakthrough performance, because South Carolina, last year's NIT champions, matched Marquette shot-for-shot throughout the absorbing game that featured 21 lead changes.

"That was certainly a championship game played at a championship level. There is no denying that," said South Carolina head coach Dave Odom.

A three-pointer by freshman Dominic James gave Marquette an 80-76 lead with 58 seconds left in regulation, but South Carolina, which shot 54.4 percent from the field, had an answer. Tarence Kinsey converted a four-point play (Marquette's Ousmane Barro fouled him outside of the three-point line) to tie the game at 80 with 47 seconds left. James, who shot 3-of-12 for 12 points and had nine assists, missed a 10-footer in the lane at the end of regulation.

Kelley scored 23 points, and Kinsey added 20 for the Gamecocks (4-1), which beat host Alaska-Anchorage and Monmouth in the previous rounds of the eight-team tournament.

Marquette's championship win came one week after losing in the final of its own Blue & Gold Classic against Winthrop.

Marquette 73, Oral Roberts 70

A balanced Golden Eagle attack withstood a dominant performance from Oral Roberts' Caleb Green to win 73-70 in the semifinal of the Great Alaska Shootout.

Green finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds, but Marquette out-rebounded its opponent 39-37 in Friday's game. Novak had nine of those rebounds and added 12 points. Barro scored 12 points and helped the Golden Eagles break open a tight contest late in the game and just barely hold on to an 11-point lead.

Marquette led 66-55 with 3:05 left, but Oral Roberts' press forced multiple turnovers. The Golden Eagles could have faced overtime had Jonathan Bluitt hit his last-second three-point effort. Instead, Bluitt's miss sent Marquette to the championship game.

Oral Roberts beat Monmouth 62-54 in the third place game Saturday.

Marquette 83, Eastern Washington 73

Joe Chapman came off the bench and scored his first 17 points of the season to help Marquette pull away from Eastern Washington in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout.

Chapman hit 5-of-8 three-pointers on Wednesday, including two consecutive treys that turned a 62-60 deficit into a 66-62 lead with 4:35 left in the second half.

Marquette trailed for almost the entire first half before a Jerel McNeal three-point play gave the team a 34-32 halftime lead. The freshman finished with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Jake Beitinger led Eastern Washington, which lost all three of its tournament games, with 17 points.