USA - Wildcats put a scare in Tar Heels

CHARLOTTE (NCAA) - It took just one game for top-ranked North Carolina to get their first scare of the season.

In what should have been a straight forward opener, the Tar Heels were pushed all the way by lowly Davidson before pulling out for a 72-68 win in Charlotte.

Wayne Ellington scored 20 points and Tyler Hansbrough, who was a National Player of the Year Finalist last season, added 14 points and 14 rebounds for North Carolina, who never led by more than seven points during the contest.

"Exhibition games are not great for us," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "We win by 56 and 52, and that doesn't challenge us, it doesn't test us - tonight did."

Davidson (1-1), the reigning Southern Conference champions, returned all five starters from its school-record 29-win team last season and was tied with North Carolina with under four minutes to play.

The score may have some Tar Heels fans concerned, but not Williams, who felt the early test will do his team good.

"I told the guys in one of the huddles, 'You may not believe this right now, but I love this,'" Williams said. "This is great for us."

Trailing by three, Andrew Lovedale's put-back cut the Wildcats' deficit to one but Ellington answered with a jumper to give the Tar Heels a 68-65 lead with 1:06 to play.

Lovedale missed a layup with just under 30 seconds to play and Ty Lawson converted two free throws to give North Carolina a five-point bulge.

Sophomore Stephen Curry, who set an NCAA freshman record with 122 three-pointers last season, missed two consecutive shots from the arc as the Wildcats were unable to make it a one-possession game.

Curry led the Wildcats with 24 points but shot two of 12 from the arc and just eight of 23 overall.

Davidson led by as many as seven points in the first half, but North Carolina used a 12-2 run to take a three-point lead and scored the final seven points to take a 38-31 advantage at the break.

The Wildcats scored the first eight points after intermission and held a 39-38 advantage just under three minutes into the second half.

Tennessee showed why they have become the fashionable preseason tip to make the Final Four, blowing out Arkansas-Monticello 101-44 in the opening round of the Legends Classic in Knoxville.

Tyler Smith scored 15 points on seven of 11 shooting and four other players registered double figures as the Volunteers cruised to their 18th consecutive home victory.

Wayne Chism had 13 points and seven rebounds and JaJuan Smith added 14 points for the Volunteers, who have not lost at Thompson-Boling Arena since suffering an 80-78 setback to Kentucky during the 2005-06 campaign.

Ramar Smith collected 12 points and five assists while Jordan Howell added 10 points and five for Tennessee (2-0).

Wooden award candidate Chris Lofton, who scored just five points in 22 minutes, was the only Volunteer starter not to reach double figures. Tennessee had 14 of their 15 players score.

"The way we played was a testament to our depth," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said. "We have 12 good players in the program, and we do not have a player who cannot play."

The Boll Weevils were led by Deron Brown, who scored 11 points before fouling out.

No. 12 Michigan State had to go defensive to take an 83-65 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

The Spartans (2-0) had to withstand a spirited rally from the Warhawks (1-2), who erased a 12-point halftime deficit to take a one-point lead less than six minutes into the second half behind a hail of three-pointers.

Lance Brasher connected from the arc twice to start and end a 19-6 run that forged a 54-53 lead for Louisiana-Monroe with 14:21 to play.

The Warhawks made five three-pointers during the outburst.

The Warhawks took their last lead at 57-56 on Jordan Payne's sixth three-pointer before Michigan State's defense asserted itself. The Spartans held Louisiana-Monroe scoreless for over six and a half minutes while going on an 11-0 run of their own to take command.

Freshman Chris Allen scored 17 while Drew Neitzel, who played for Team USA at the Pan-American Games this summer, had 15 for Michigan State. Raymar Morgan collected 13 and 14 rebounds.

Josh Carter hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 2:10 left in the game and scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half as No. 15 Texas A&M rallied for an 81-76 victory over UTEP in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.

James Jones had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Aggies (3-0), who will play either Washington or Utah at Madison Square Garden next Wednesday in the semifinals.

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