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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, November 26, 2008

No. 1 North Carolina, No. 8 Notre Dame gain Maui final

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, left, knocks the ball away from Oregon's Ben Voogd.

CHRIS CARLSON | Associated Press

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Notre Dame's Luke Harangody drives between Texas' Clint Chapman, left, and Gary Johnson during the first half of their game at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina yesterday. The Irish won, 81-80.

CHRIS CARLSON | Associated Press

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LAHAINA, Maui — Tyler Hansbrough was back for a second game and No. 1 North Carolina will be playing for a third title on Maui.

The reigning player of the year, who missed three weeks of practice and three games with a leg injury, had 16 points to lead the Tar Heels to a 98-69 victory over Oregon last night in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

North Carolina (5-0) will play No. 8 Notre Dame at 5 p.m. today in the championship game. The Fighting Irish beat No. 6 Texas, 81-80, in the semifinals in the season's first matchup of top-10 teams.

Here comes the second and it isn't a sure thing Hansbrough will be on the court for it.

"The decision will be made during warmups by both of us," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "If he has pain in his ankle, he probably won't play. If he doesn't, he probably will play."

Hansbrough scored 13 points in 25 minutes last Friday in an 84-67 win over UC Santa Barbara after missing games for the first time in his college career because of a stress reaction in his right shin.

"It's good to get back out there," Hansbrough said. "As far as conditioning, I'm out of shape but that will come by playing. My ankle? I felt it a little, but overall I was able to play a little bit."

NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 81, NO. 6 TEXAS 80

Luke Harangody had 29 points and 13 rebounds and the Fighting Irish (4-0) hung on to beat the Longhorns (3-1) when A.J. Abrams' shot from just before halfcourt bounced off the front of the rim as time expired in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

The Fighting Irish took a 43-40 lead at intermission and went ahead for good at 47-45 on a drive by Harangody with 17:29 left.

Saint Joseph's 80, Indiana 54: Darrin Govens hit a career-high seven 3-pointers and had 23 points, and the Hawks (2-2) used a 19-0 run for a 53-33 lead with 13:19 to play to beat the Hoosiers (2-2) in the consolation round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Alabama 78, Chaminade 56: Sophomore guard Senario Hillman scored 22 points and the Crimson Tide (2-2) broke from a 14-all tie with a 23-2 run and never looked back in beating the host Silverswords (0-2) in the consolation round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

MEN'S TOP 10

No. 4 Pittsburgh 74, Belmont 60: Sam Young scored 33 points despite not getting his first basket until more than 11 minutes into the game as the host Panthers (5-0) beat the Bruins (1-2) to improve to 61-1 against non-conference opponents since the Petersen Events Center opened in 2002.

WAC MEN

UTAH STATE 75, WEBER STATE 49: Gary Wilkinson scored 18 points to lead three teammates in double figures and the host Aggies (3-0), trailing 35-28 at halftime, opened the second half with a 22-7 run to cruise past the Wildcats (1-3).

Fresno State 79, Seattle University 58: Sylvester Seay scored 22 points, Paul George had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the host Bulldogs (2-2) used a 9-0 second-half run for a 61-42 lead in rolling past the Redhawks (3-1).

WOMEN'S TOP 10

NO. 1 UCONN 96, BYU 47: Maya Moore had 14 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists and the visiting Huskies (4-0) made their first 11 shots of the second half to turn a 47-29 halftime lead into a 73-36 cushion in crushing the Cougars (2-2).

No. 2 North Carolina 96, Wofford 42: Cetera DeGraffenreid scored 15 points, Chay Shegog had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and the host Tar Heels (6-0) opened with a 14-0 run and never trailed in routing the Terriers (0-2).

No. 7 Louisville 59, Utah 48: Denise Byrd scored 17 points, Angel McCoughtry added 13, and the visiting Cardinals (4-0) made 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win over the Utes (2-2).

No. 8 Texas A&M 54, Arizona 44: Danielle Gant had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and hit a turnaround jumper with 1:26 left to give the Aggies (4-0) a 50-44 lead en route to beating the Wildcats (3-2), who used an 12-2 run to close to 48-44.

No. 9 Tennessee 83, Western Carolina 56: Freshman Glory Johnson scored 19 points, and the Lady Vols (4-1) finished the first half with a 31-7 run for a 49-26 lead in beating the Lady Catamounts (2-2) for coach Pat Summitt's 987th victory in 35 seasons.

NCAA

INDIANA PENALIZED

The NCAA placed Indiana University on three years' probation yesterday for a telephone recruiting scandal that decimated the once-storied basketball program.

The governing body also imposed stiff penalties on an assistant and former coach Kelvin Sampson, who made more than 100 impermissible phone calls to recruits while still on probation for a similar phone-call scandal at Oklahoma.

The penalties cap a 20-month saga that began with Sampson's hiring in March 2006.

"It's bittersweet," said current Indiana coach Tom Crean, with the team in Hawai'i. "We didn't want to lose postseason, scholarships or television. Thank God we didn't lose any of those so we can continue to move the program without the what-ifs."

The NCAA faulted the university for inadequate monitoring when Sampson was hired but acknowledged the former coach's conduct was "unprecedented."