No. 3 Texas Runs Past UC Irvine, No. 6 UNC Gets By Valpo, No. 14 Washington Cruises

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Tucson, AZ (Sports Network) – Freshman Solomon Hill scored 17 points to lead the Arizona Wildcats to a 87-70 victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in non-conference action.

Nic Wise added 15 points for Arizona (1-0), which opened the Sean Miller era on a positive note. Jamelle Horne racked up 14 points and 11 rebounds in the triumph, and Kyle Fogg added 10 points.

Cameron Jones poured in 29 points in defeat for Northern Arizona (1-1), which got 11 points from Gabe Rogers.

Arizona connected on 58.4 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half and led 51-31 at intermission.

The Lumberjacks cut their deficit to 13 points in the second half, but the Wildcats were able to cruise to victory nonetheless.

Arizona earned a 40-32 rebounding advantage in the clash and improved to 92-27 all-time versus Northern Arizona.

- Via Sports Network

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Morgantown, WV (Sports Network) – Da’Sean Butler scored a game-high 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists, as eighth-ranked West Virginia opened its 2009-10 season with an easy 83-60 win over Loyola- Maryland.

Darryl Bryant went for 15 points and five assists, while Kevin Jones and Casey Mitchell contributed 14 and 13 points apiece, respectively for West Virginia (1-0), which finished 23-12 overall in 2008-09. The Mountaineers earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, but lost to Dayton in the first round.

Shane Walker had a team-best 14 points for Loyola-Maryland (1-1), which opened its 100th season of men’s basketball on Friday with a 79-66 win over Vermont. Jamal Barney finished with 11 points.

Butler’s layup in the closing seconds of the first half allowed West Virginia to force a 31-31 tie heading into the break. The Mountaineers then ran off 11 straight to start the second with Bryant bookending the run with a pair of three pointers and a 42-31 lead just over four minutes in.

Loyola was able to get as close as six at 48-42 near the 13 1/2 minute mark after a Julius Brooks dunk, but WVU responded when Butler hit a jumper and a three sandwiched around a Dan Jennings dunk to go ahead by 13. The Greyhounds never threatened the rest of the way.

This was the first-ever meeting between Loyola-Maryland and West Virginia in men’s basketball…Brooks ended with eight points, while Jennings finished with nine points and a game-high 12 boards and three blocks.

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Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) – Deon Thompson scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as sixth-ranked North Carolina defeated Valparaiso, 88-77, at the Smith Center.

Ed Davis totaled 16 points and six boards, while Larry Drew II finished with 13 points and six assists for the Tar Heels (3-0).

Brandon Wood poured in a game-high 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting for the Crusaders (0-2), who got a 20-point effort from Brandon McPherson.

North Carolina scored nine of the game’s first 12 points, but the Crusaders hung in there with the defending national champs, tying the game at 22 on a three-pointer by McPherson with about 8 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Tar Heels later went on a 9-0 run, and took a 38-31 lead into the break.

North Carolina ripped off eight consecutive points to open the second half, and led 63-41 after a basket by Davis. Valpo mounted a rally in the late stages, trimming the deficit to nine, but it was too late.

The Tar Heels have won all three meetings with Valparaiso…Tyler Zeller had 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks for North Carolina, which shot 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the field and held a 42-23 edge on the glass…The Crusaders made 43.3 percent (29-of-67) of their shots.

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Austin, TX (Sports Network) - Dexter Pittman and Damion James each tallied 21 points to lead No. 3 Texas to a season-opening 89-42 rout of UC Irvine.

James also pulled down 15 rebounds for the Longhorns (1-0), who went 23-12 last season and return four starters. J'Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the lopsided affair.

Zack Atkinson led UC Irvine (1-1) with 10 points and five rebounds. Darren Moore and Michael Hunter each went for six points on a combined 5-for-20 shooting performance from the field.

The Anteaters, who opened their season on Friday night with a 28-point win over the University of La Verne, hit nine of their first 13 shots from the floor en route to a 19-18 lead at the midway point of the first half.

The visitors, however, missed their next 14 attempts from the floor, and the Longhorns ended the half on a 24-2 run. Brown started the rally with a three- pointer and ended the half with another trey for a 42-21 lead.

The lead increased to 55-29, and Pittman recorded back-to-back dunks to ignite a 9-0 run that ended any hope of a miracle comeback.

This bout was the first-ever meeting between UC-Irvine and Texas on the hardwood...The game was part of regional action in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic...Avery Bradley had 10 points for Texas, which shot 56.5 percent from the field, compared to UC Irvine's 27.4 percent shooting effort.

- Via Sports Network