Hansbrough leads UNC over Irish

COLLEGE ROUNDUP

Tyler Hansbrough looked like his old self and North Carolina looked like the unanimous No. 1.

The reigning National Player of the Year who had played in only two games this season because of leg injuries, Hansbrough had 34 points to lead the top-ranked Tar Heels to a 102-87 victory over No. 8 Notre Dame last night in the championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.

The title was their third in the 25 years of the tournament, second only to Duke's four.

But what mattered more was that Hansbrough, who returned for his senior year, played at the level that made him the Player of the Year last season.

He was 13 of 19 from the field, hitting his shots down low, throwing down dunks, and even making a 3-pointer. He grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots, including one by Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, like Hansbrough a preseason All-American.

It wasn't all Hansbrough for the Tar Heels (6-0), however. Point guard Ty Lawson had too much speed in the open court for the Fighting Irish (4-1) and he finished with 22 points and 11 assists. He was selected tournament MVP.

Deon Thompson had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who had a 44-36 rebound advantage. and shot 55.7 percent from the field.

Harangody, who had to cover and be covered by Hansbrough despite being sick all day, had 13 points and seven rebounds. Kyle McAlarney picked up the slack, scoring a career-high 39 points on a wild shooting show that saw him finish 10 of 18 from behind the arc.

Texas 70, Oregon 57 - The sixth-ranked Longhorns bounced back from a loss to Notre Dame with a victory over the Ducks to take third place in the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Damion James had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Longhorns (4-1), who lost, 81-80, to No. 8 Notre Dame in the semifinals, a game that ended with A.J. Abrams's shot from beyond halfcourt bouncing off the front of the rim.

Oklahoma 77, UAB 67 - Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the No. 11 Sooners beat the Blazers in the NIT semifinals and advance to tomorrow's championship game against Purdue.

Trailing, 62-60, with 5:09 left in a back-and-forth game, Oklahoma (5-0) closed with a 17-5 run. Griffin scored 5 points during the spurt and keyed a 3-point play by Austin Johnson by stealing the ball and pitching it ahead to his teammate on a fast break. That gave Oklahoma a 67-62 lead with 4:01 left, and the Sooners cruised from there.

Brown 80, Army 73 - Peter Sullivan scored 26 points and Chris Skrelja added 15 points and 11 assists as the Bears beat the Black Knights in Providence. Army led, 59-56, with just under six minutes remaining, but Brown went on a 16-4 run that started and ended with 3-point shots by Sullivan.

Women
Oklahoma 83, Marist 57 - Freshman guard Whitney Hand scored a career-high 20 points and Danielle Robinson added 17 points and a career-best eight assists as the No. 4 Sooners beat the Red Foxes in Norman, Okla., in a tuneup before their showdown against top-ranked Connecticut.

Maryland 68, South Dakota State 56 - Kristi Toliver scored 16 points and Lynetta Kizer scored 13 of her 15 points during a decisive run to help the No. 10 Terrapins beat the Jackrabbits at the Cancun Caribbean Challenge.

Michigan State 74, Old Dominion 48 - Lauren Aitch had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench to help the No. 24 Spartans pull away from the No. 23 Monarchs.

Xavier 57, LSU 48 - Dee Dee Jernigan had career highs with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the No. 25 Musketeers over the host Lady Tigers.

Men's hockey
Princeton 2, Quinnipiac 1 - Brandon Wong scored the Bobcats' only goal in the visiting team's loss to the Tigers. Princeton (8-1-0, 7-1-0 ERCAC) got goals from Sam Sabky and Kevin Kaiser. Quinnipiac fell to 6-5-1 and 4-3-1.

Women's hockey
UNH 2, Northeastern 0 - Kayley Herman stopped all 12 shots she faced for her first shutout of the season as the host Wildcats (8-3-3, 4-1-2 Hockey East) topped the Huskies (6-4-2, 3-2-0). Courtney Birchard and Angela Taylor connected for New Hampshire, which scored its 22d straight win against NU.