No. 6 Tar Heels fight off Valpo

By The Associated Press

Created: Monday, November 16, 2009 1:15 a.m. CDT

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
– Deon Thompson scored 16 of his 20 points after halftime to lead
No. 6 North Carolina past pesky Valparaiso, 88-77, on Sunday.

Ed Davis added a career-high 16 points for the Tar Heels (3-0), who didn’t look sharp yet still earned their third consecutive double-digit victory to open the season. North Carolina led 38-31 at halftime, but scored on 12 of 13 possessions to build a 24-point lead midway through the second half.

The Crusaders (0-2) got as close as 84-75 on a three-pointer from Brandon McPherson with 1:47 left.

No. 3 Texas 89, UC-Irvine 42: At Austin, Texas, Damion James had 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead Texas to a season-opening victory against UC-Irvine (1-1).

Dexter Pittman added 21 points for the Longhorns (1-0).

No. 8 West Virginia 83, Loyola, Md. 60: At Morgantown, W.Va., Da’Sean Butler scored 26 points, and West Virginia (1-0) used two second-half runs to pull away from Loyola of Maryland (1-1).

No. 14 Washington 111, Portland St. 55: At Seattle, Quincy Pondexter scored 20 of his career-high 29 in the first half, and Washington overwhelmed Portland State.