Unproven Arizona Too Much for North Carolina, 83-72

Arizona Coach Lute Olson admits he was worried about his young team. That lasted for one half.

The 19th-ranked Wildcats, with four players making their first collegiate starts, used a career-high 31 points from junior Michael Dickerson and 22 from touted freshman Michael Bibby to defeat No. 7 North Carolina, 83-72, on Friday night in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic at Springfield, Mass.

Miles Simon, who was supposed to be the Wildcats’ only returning starter from last season, was sitting in the stands because of academic problems. He watched his teammates pull away from a 29-29 halftime tie as Dickerson went five for six from three-point range and Bibby scored 16 points.

“I had been thinking a lot about this game and I don’t think a game ever tore at me as this one had,” Olson said. “Any time you go in without the guy who is your leader, you worry.”

The Wildcats opened the second half with a 12-2 run, hitting their first five shots from the field, the last two three-pointers by Bibby and Dickerson. North Carolina, starting an inexperienced backcourt, continued to struggle from the field as Arizona increased the lead to 67-50 on a shot shot by Dickerson with 6:31 to play.

“We came out with more energy in the second half and stopped their penetration,” Dickerson said.

No. 2 Kansas 76, Santa Clara 64--Jerod Haase scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half, and the Jayhawks pulled away for the victory at San Jose in the season opener for both teams.

Raef LaFrentz added 17 and Paul Pierce 16 points for Kansas, who remained unbeaten in four meetings with Santa Clara. Kansas finished the Broncos’ season last spring by defeating them in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

No. 13 Syracuse 106, Winthrop 51--Otis Hill scored a career-high 23 points and Todd Burgan added 21 at Syracuse, N.Y., as the Orangemen opened their season by humbling Winthrop.

Hill scored six points to lead the Orangemen on a 22-point run as Syracuse used a powerful inside game and the fastbreak to thwart any visions of a Winthrop upset.

No. 14 Fresno State 75, Pacific 71--Dominick Young sank two free throws with 12 seconds left to ice the victory at Fresno in the season opener for both schools.

The Tigers trimmed a 14-point Fresno State lead to two in the final four minutes with Corey Anders scoring nine of his 15 points during that run. Pacific lost despite 26 points from Michael Olowokandi. Terrance Roberson and Kendric Brooks led Fresno State with 13 points each.

No. 16 Arkansas 127, Jackson State 74--Pat Bradley made five of his first six shots as the Razorbacks quickly opened an 11-point lead en route to the victory at Fayetteville, Ark.

Bradley scored 11 of his 25 points in the first 7 1/2 minutes as the Razorbacks moved in front, 27-16, in the opener for both teams.

No. 18 New Mexico 94, Columbia 56--Charles Smith scored 26 points and three New Mexico teammates scored in double figures at Albuquerque, N.M., leading the Lobos to the victory in the first round of the Lobo Classic.

New Mexico (2-0) advanced to today’s championship and will face Eastern Washington.

No. 21 Boston College 89, Brown 72--The Eagles took care of Brown quickly, scoring the first 13 points on the way to the victory at Boston. Boston College’s Antonio Granger scored a career-high 22 points.

No. 24 George Washington 86, Holy Cross 56--Alexander Koul scored 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting and Shawnta Rogers had 18 points, six assists and four steals in the first round of the Red Auerbach Colonial Classic at Washington.

No. 25 Iowa 81, Western Illinois 66--Andre Woolridge scored 24 points, Jess Settles 19 and Kent McCausland 15--all on three-point shots--as the Hawkeyes defeated the Leathernecks at Moline, Ill. Iowa yielded 13 three-point baskets in both teams’ season opener, including eight in the first half.

PRESEASON NIT

No. 10 Duke 86, Vanderbilt 57--Steve Wojciechowski keyed a first-half run as the Blue Devils (2-0) turned up their defensive pressure to advance to the semifinals of the Preseason NIT with the victory at Durham, N.C.

Wojciechowski, who scored 12 points, had three of his seven first-half steals during a 17-4 run late in the first half. That helped turn a three-point Duke lead into a 42-26 margin.

The Blue Devils will play Tulsa in Wednesday’s semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

No. 22 Indiana 70, Saint Louis 54--Led by freshmen A.J. Guyton and Jason Collier, the Hoosiers reached the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at Bloomington, Ind.

Guyton scored 14 points and Collier added 13 for the Hoosiers (3-0), who will meet Evansville on Wednesday.

Tulsa 72, Oklahoma State 54--Eric Coley and Shea Seals each scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures as the Golden Hurricane held the Cowboys to 34% shooting at Tulsa.

The Golden Hurricane also outrebounded the Cowboys, 49-36.

Evansville 44, Iona 41--Justin Farley made two free throws with 17 seconds left to preserve the Aces’ victory at Evansville, Ind. The Aces (2-0) held the Gaels to 28% shooting from the field and 20% from three-point range.

OTHER GAMES

Junior guard Jeremy Veal scored 25 points and led four Arizona State players in double figures as the Sun Devils defeated Jacksonville, 111-69, in their season opener at Tempe, Ariz. . . . Matt Harpring scored 28 points, including 11 during a 19-4 second-half run, to lead Georgia Tech to a 74-49 victory over Wofford at Atlanta. . . . Cory Carr scored 29 points and center Tony Battie, the only returning starter, added 17 as Texas Tech defeated Southern Mississippi, 96-79, at Lubbock, Texas. . . . Kiwane Garris (26 points) and Jerry Hester (17 points) led a late 11-0 spurt as Illinois overcame scrappy Illinois-Chicago, 68-63, to give Lon Kruger a victory in his Illini coaching debut at Chicago. . . . Murry Bartow won his first game as a coach as Cedric Dixon scored 18 points to lead Alabama-Birmingham to a 64-57 victory over Auburn at Birmingham, Ala. . . .

Forward Enoch Davis scored 22 points, making all 10 field goals, while three other Aggies scored in double figures as New Mexico State rolled to a season-opening 87-56 victory over Western New Mexico at Las Cruces, N.M. . . . After a sluggish start Providence easily dispatched Alaska-Fairbanks, 98-73, in the first round of the Top of the World Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska. Jamal Thomas and Derrick Brown led all scorers with 29 apiece for Providence. . . . Les Bean scored 21 points as UC Santa Barbara defeated Westmont College, 73-64, at Santa Barbara.