November 15, 2006 in Sports

Hawes rallies Huskies past Panthers

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Associated Press photo

Washington guard Adrian Oliver shoots a layup over Northern Iowa’s Grant Stout in the first half.
(Full-size photo)

Spencer Hawes scored 16 points and had a key blocked shot late in his third collegiate game to rally No. 17 Washington past Northern Iowa 70-61 Tuesday night in the finale of the Basketball Travelers Classic in Seattle.

Tournament MVP Justin Dentmon led the Huskies (3-0) with 17 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 30 seconds. That’s how Washington narrowly escaped its first non-conference home loss since Dec. 3, 2003, to Gonzaga.

Grant Stout led the Panthers (2-1) with 17 points. But the preseason selection for All-Missouri Valley Conference missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 28 seconds left and Washington leading 66-60. Dentmon then made two of his sealing free throws.

(1) Florida 86, North Florida 40: At Gainesville, Fla., Al Horford had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Joakim Noah added 15 points and 10 rebounds and the top-ranked Gators overwhelmed the Ospreys (0-3).

The defending national champions extended their winning streak to 13 games and dominated for the second time in two games this season.

The Gators (2-0) shot 59 percent, had 16 assists, 12 offensive rebounds and just six turnovers against Samford in the opener last week. They weren’t nearly as sharp to start this one, missing nine free throws, going 1 of 6 from 3-point range and committing five turnovers in the first half.

(2) North Carolina 103, Sacred Heart 81: At Charlotte, N.C., Tyler Hansbrough had 29 points and nine rebounds and the Tar Heels pulled away in the second half to beat the Pioneers (0-2) in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Hansbrough, the leading vote getter on The Associated Press preseason All-America team, hit 11 of 14 shots and routinely scored over double teams for the Tar Heels (1-0), who advanced to play today against Winthrop, which beat Iona 57-38 in the late game.

Reyshawn Terry scored all 18 of his points in the second half, while freshmen Brandan Wright, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson scored 10 points apiece for North Carolina, which shot 59 percent to improve to 85-12 in season openers.

(4) Pittsburgh 67, Delaware State 50: At Pittsburgh, Ronald Ramon’s 3-pointer finished off a first-half run that gave Pittsburgh an early lead and the Panthers wore down the Hornets.

Aaron Gray, the 7-foot center who was the Big East’s preseason player of the year, scored nine of his 17 points during the breakout start that gave Pittsburgh (2-0) a 23-11 lead. Gray had eight rebounds and proved a difficult matchup for Delaware State (1-1), an NIT team last season that has only one starter taller than 6-6.

The game was Jamie Dixon’s 100th as Pitt’s coach. He has a 78-22 record in four seasons.

(16) Marquette 87, Detroit 45: At Milwaukee, Dominic James scored 20 points to help the Golden Eagles beat Detroit in the quarterfinals of the CBE Classic.

Wesley Matthews scored 15 points and Lazar Hayward added 14 off the bench for Marquette (3-0), which advances to play Texas Tech in the CBE Classic semifinals next Monday in Kansas City.

Ryvon Covile led Detroit (1-1) with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Titans had 27 turnovers.

(25) Tennessee 87, UNC Wilmington 75: At Nashville, Tenn., JaJuan Smith scored a career-high 21 points, and the Volunteers beat the Seahawks (1-1) in the South Region championship of the NIT Season Tip-off.

Chris Lofton, who missed five of his first six shots, finished with 17 points for Tennessee (3-0). Reserve Ryan Childress had 14 and Duke Crews had 13.

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