MAUI INVITATIONAL : Villanova Wins Title, 77-75

Kerry Kittles scored 20 points, with the last two giving Villanova the winning margin, and Eric Eberz contributed 14 of his 19 points in the second half Wednesday night as the third-ranked Wildcats won the Maui Invitational with a 77-75 victory over No. 20 North Carolina.

The Tar Heels (2-1) had a chance to tie or win with two seconds left, but Jeff McInnis’ shot was well off the mark.

Villanova (3-0) appeared to have the game under control with 3:25 left after Eberz made a three-point basket to make it 75-70. But freshman Antawn Jamison converted on a three-point play to make it 75-73.

Kittles followed with a basket to make it 77-73 and Jamison closed out the scoring with a field goal with 1:09 left.

Villanova also got strong play from freshman Rafal Bigus, who came off the bench to score 11 points and grab three rebounds. For the Tar Heels, Dante Calabria finished with 16 points.

In other games, Steve Nash scored 23 points as Santa Clara (2-1) defeated Michigan State (1-2), 77-71, for third place, and Wisconsin (1-2) rolled to a 104-66 victory over host Chaminade (0-3) for seventh.