North Carolina Cruises, 108-67

Donald Williams does not have the green light from North Carolina Coach Dean Smith to shoot at will, but the reins will probably be loosened substantially if Williams continues to perform as he did Friday night.

Williams scored 23 points as No. 7 North Carolina defeated South Carolina, 108-67, in the first round of the Tournament of Champions at Charlotte, N.C.

“Coach has confidence in me, so that gives me confidence,” Williams said. “Tonight I was more relaxed.”

Williams made eight of 12 shots, including five of eight three-point attempts. North Carolina made nine of 18 three-point attempts and dominated both ends of the court.

North Carolina (2-0) plays Texas, a 63-53 winner over Princeton, in the championship game tonight.

Williams’ previous high for the Tar Heels was 11 points against Cornell last season. He started this season with 21 points against Old Dominion.

“We were together all summer and he was shooting the ball like that,” teammate Derrick Phelps said. “But I didn’t think he would come out and do it like that so soon.”

North Carolina outrebounded South Carolina, 44-28. The Tar Heels made 57% of their shots. South Carolina shot 42%.

“They did a great job taking the ball in the paint,” South Carolina Coach Steve Newton said. “They wore us down physically.”

North Carolina won its 100th game in its former home away from home. Since building the 22,000-seat Dean Smith Center, the Tar Heels only play at Charlotte in the Tournament of Champions and the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

No. 10 Iowa 85, Texas Pan American 29--The Hawkeyes did not allow a basket over the final 9:31 and cruised to victory in the first round of the Amana-Hawkeye tournament at Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes (2-0) will meet Mississippi State (2-0), which held Long Island to 17 second-half points during a 61-52 victory.

The last time Iowa held a team below 30 points was in December 1948 when the Hawkeyes defeated Ithaca College, 78-26.

“Our worst nightmare came true,” Texas Pan American Coach Mark Adams said.

James Winters’ dunk to open the game set the tone for Iowa, which took a 16-0 lead before Texas Pan American scored.

No. 17 Syracuse 103, Southern Mississippi 75--Mike Hopkins and Dave Siock combined for 16 points early in the second half to lead the Orangemen over the Golden Eagles in the first round of the Carrier Classic at Syracuse, N.Y.

Syracuse (2-0), which has won 13 of 15 classics, including 10 in a row, plays for the title against Virginia Commonwealth (2-0), an 86-61 winner over Marist.

Hopkins scored 17 points to lead six Orangemen in double figures. Siock finished with 10.

Bernard Haslett led the Golden Eagles with 21 points, including 17 in the first half.

No. 24 Purdue 85, Weber State 64--Glenn Robinson led four Boilermaker players in double figures with 25 points in the first round of the Boilermaker Invitational at West Lafayette, Ind.

Ian Stanback had 15 points and nine rebounds, Matt Waddell scored 12 points and Matt Painter had 10 points and 10 assists for Purdue (2-0).

Al Hamilton scored 23 points for Weber State (1-1).

OTHER GAMES

James Robinson made a short jump shot and two of three foul shots in the closing minutes to lift Alabama (2-0) to a 70-68 victory over Washington State (1-1) at Birmingham, Ala. . . . Nick Sanderson made a school-record seven three-point shots and finished with 30 points as Brigham Young (2-0) defeated Utah State (1-1), 93-83, at Logan, Utah.

Monty Williams, coming back after missing two seasons with a heart ailment, scored 19 points and grabbed a last-minute rebound to lead Notre Dame (1-0) to a 52-50 victory over Loyola of Chicago (1-1) at Rosemont, Ill. . . . Donnie Boyce and Randy Robinson of Colorado (2-0) combined for 35 of 46 points in the second half to lead the Buffaloes to a 74-66 victory over Wagner College (0-2) in the Mile High tournament at Boulder.

Nebraska (1-0) held Colgate (0-1) scoreless for the first 3:30 and cruised to a 108-76 victory in the opening game of the Ameritas tournament at Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers will play Kent (1-0), an 83-71 winner over Idaho State (0-1), for the championship. . . . North Carolina Charlotte (4-0) produced a 21-5 run during the first half en route to an 81-62 victory over Centenary (1-1) in the first round of the Dr. Pepper Invitational at Waco, Tex. North Carolina Charlotte will play Baylor (2-0), a 104-87 winner over Valparaiso (1-1).

Marquette (1-0) took advantage of 15% first-half shooting by North Carolina A&T; (0-2) for an 84-43 victory in the first round of the First Bank tournament at Milwaukee. Marquette will play Manhattan (2-0), a 67-42 winner over Texas Christian (1-1). . . . Craig Brown made a three-point basket with nine seconds to play and Stacey Poole scored a career-high 29 points as Florida defeated South Florida, 80-78, at Tampa.

Marvin Moore scored 21 points to lead Rice (1-1) to an 89-78 victory over Murray State (1-2) in the first round of the Husky tournament at Seattle. . . . Reginald Allen made 10 of 13 shots in the second half and scored 12 points during a three-minute stretch, leading Alabama Birmingham (3-1) to a 100-88 victory over Southern University at Birmingham, Ala.