Huskies run past Waves

Jon Brockman had 25 points and 12 rebounds in his first game as Washington’s new leader to send the No. 17 Huskies to a 99-91 victory over Pepperdine in the Basketball Travelers Classic on Sunday at Seattle.

Freshman Quincy Pondexter added 21 points and seven rebounds. Touted classmate Spencer Hawes added 12 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four blocks off the bench in the lightning-like debut for a Washington team (1-0) that has nine freshmen and sophomores on its roster.

Jason Walberg -- son of first-year Pepperdine Coach Vance Walberg -- had 18 points off the bench for the Waves (0-1). Marvin Lea added 16.

After Washington went up by 19 points, its largest lead, early in the second half, Pepperdine fought back to get within 62-53 on a three-point shot by Tomas Pranciliauskas with 14 minutes left. But the Huskies scored the next seven points -- including three from Brockman -- to pull away.

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No. 4 Pittsburgh 86, Western Michigan 67 -- The first game of the Panthers’ season took a backseat to the postgame ceremony at West Point, N.Y., in the inaugural Maggie Dixon Classic in honor of the Army women’s basketball coach who died in April at 28 of arrhythmia.

Pitt Coach Jamie Dixon, the older brother of Maggie, helped create the doubleheader that included the Army women’s team opener. He held up a ring that was presented to the Dixon family honoring the Army women’s 2005-06 Patriot League championship. Upon seeing the ring, the Pitt players pointed back at their coach and continued applauding.

“It was so important for us to be here for Coach Dixon,” said center Aaron Gray. “With all he has gone through ... we know he is ready to handle anything on the court.”

No. 9 Wisconsin 72, Mercer 48 -- The Badgers’ margin of victory could have been even wider, but they made only 12 of 27 free throws in a season opener for both teams at Madison, Wis.

Virginia 93, No. 10 Arizona 90 -- The Cavaliers made seven of 10 free throws in the final 2:56 to hold on in a season opener for both teams at Charlottesville, Va. Virginia used a 14-5 run to grab its first lead of the second half at 86-82 with 5:45 left.

The Cavaliers benefited from getting into the bonus early and converting 21 of 28 at the line in the first half.

No. 12 Duke 86, Columbia 43 -- For the Blue Devils, the most welcome sight in the season-opening CBE Classic at Durham, N.C., might have been the return of Greg Paulus, who had two points and seven assists after being sidelined for most of the preseason because of a foot injury.

No. 20 Syracuse 83, Texas El Paso 69 -- Orange Coach Jim Boeheim got the 729th victory of his career in the finale of the Black Coaches Assn. Invitational at Syracuse, N.Y.

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In selected games:

Maryland 99, George Mason 43 -- The Terrapins (2-0) unfurled their national championship banner, then scored 22 consecutive first-half points against the Patriots (0-1) in the victory at College Park, Md.

No. 2 North Carolina 83, Winston Salem 32 -- Initially bothered by a zone defense, the Tar Heels (2-0) made only 13 of their first 38 shots but later put together a 23-0 stretch to top the Rams (0-1) at Chapel Hill.

No. 3 Oklahoma 105, No. 20 DePaul 71 -- Sophomore center Courtney Paris had 23 points and 11 rebounds for her 34th double-double, a school record, for the Sooners (1-0) in the season opener for both teams at Norman, Okla. Ashley Paris, Courtney’s twin, added 16 points.

No. 5 Tennessee 102, Chattanooga 72 -- The Lady Vols have had two of the four female players to dunk in the women’s college game but never had it been done in front of the home crowd at Knoxville, Tenn., until Candace Parker did it in the season opener against the Mocs (1-1).

Said Tennessee Coach Patt Summitt: “It was probably a good thing to get that over with. I know she wanted to dunk at home for the Lady Vol fans.” Parker finished with 15 points. Alexis Hornbuckle had a team-high 19.

No. 7 Ohio State 77, Army 41 -- Jessica Davenport scored 16 of her 22 points in the first half to lead the Buckeyes (1-0) over the Knights (0-1) in the Maggie Dixon Classic at West Point, which was followed by the Pitt men’s game.

No. 9 Georgia 78, No. 12 Rutgers 69 -- After the Scarlet Knights had rallied from a 10-point deficit to take a 65-62 lead with 3:40 left, the Bulldogs forced turnovers on Rutgers’ next four possessions to win in the first game of a season-opening doubleheader at Norman, Okla.

No. 13 Arizona State 67, No. 18 New Mexico 49 -- Briann January scored 14 points and had four steals to lift the Sun Devils (2-0) over the Lobos (1-1).

Indiana 54, Kentucky 51 -- Jamie Braun made consecutive three-point shots after the score was tied 47-47 to put the Hoosiers (2-0) ahead of the Wildcats (1-1) for good in the championship of the Women’s Sports Foundation tournament at Lexington, Ky.

No. 21 California 71, St. Mary’s 56 -- Alexis Gray-Lawson had 22 points as the Bears converted 29 turnovers into 27 points in the season opener for both teams at Berkeley.