Cota Arms North Carolina

Ed Cota rescued sloppy North Carolina with 20 points, including a driving layup with 1.5 seconds left, giving the third-ranked Tar Heels a 63-61 victory over Old Dominion in the Food Lion MVP Classic on Friday night at Charlotte, N.C.

Cota added six assists and three steals as North Carolina (8-0) turned back the Monarchs’ bid for a 7-0 start.

Old Dominion’s Clifton Jones made a three-point shot with 17 seconds left, tying the score at 61. Cota took the inbounds pass, dribbled upcourt and waited for the clock to wind down before he drove the left side of the lane and banked in the layup.

Ohio 61, No. 12 Syracuse 55--Sanjay Adell scored 16 points as Ohio University (3-0) stunned the Orangemen in the first round of the Carrier Classic at Syracuse, N.Y.

It was the first loss for Syracuse (6-1) in the first round of its own tournament since it began 23 years ago.

OTHER GAMES

Minnesota 77, Fresno State 65--Kevin Clark scored 29 points to lead Minnesota (5-0) at Fresno. Fresno State (4-4) never got closer than five points in the second half.

Iowa 82, South Alabama 58--Jess Settles scored 15 points to pace Iowa (4-1) in the first round of the Hawkeye Invitational at Iowa City, Iowa. South Alabama is 1-4.

Western Illinois 72, Princeton 71--Juan Martinez’s basket started an 8-0 run in overtime and Western Illinois (3-2) survived a late barrage of three-point baskets by Princeton (2-2) in the Cyclone Challenge at Ames, Iowa.

WOMEN

Monica Maxwell scored 18 points as No. 2 Louisiana Tech beat No. 18 Iowa State, 89-60, at Tucson. . . . Ukari Figgs scored 21 points as No. 4 Purdue rolled past Northern Illinois, 83-55, at West Lafayette, Ind. . . . DeMya Walker scored 19 points as No. 15 Virginia defeated Wake Forest, 65-45, at Charlottesville, Va. . . . Jaclyn Johnson scored 16 points to lead No. 19 Kansas past Maryland-Eastern Shore, 75-47, at Lawrence, Kan. . . . Stephanie Rogers scored 22 points as Santa Clara beat No. 24 Stanford, 81-65, at Santa Clara.