For a half it was a tight contest. Then South Carolina got things cranked up against South Carolina Upstate.

Leading by just two points on their home court at the break, the Gamecocks opened the second half with a 21-6 run, pulling away for a 57-41 home victory Tuesday night.

South Carolina (3-1) improved to 3-0 at home this season, winning those three by an average of 20 points. The only loss for the Gamecocks came at No. 2 Michigan State, 82-73.

Up by two at the half, the Gamecocks put together the decisive run across the first 13 minutes of the second half.

South Carolina survived a poor shooting performance (36.5 percent), holding the Spartans to just 25.9 percent shooting. Ramon Galloway led South Carolina with 12 points off the bench. Lakeem Jackson added 11 points and Malik Cooke led the Gamecocks with nine rebounds to go with eight points.

The tough road continues for the Spartans (0-6), who have played all but one game away from home this season. USC Upstate played without freshman forward Ricardo Glenn, a starter who broke a bone in his left hand in last weekend’s Charleston Classic.

Babatunde Olomuwiya came off the bench to lead the Spartans with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

South Carolina travels to Western Kentucky on Saturday, then returns home to open a three-game homestand against Delaware State on Dec. 1. The Spartans play next on Monday at home against UNC-Asheville.