Taylor King added 14 points off the bench, hitting on 4-of-8 three-point attempts, and also grabbed nine boards.

Antonio Pena chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds for Villanova (4-0), which edged George Mason, 69-68, in first-round action on Thursday. Scottie Reynolds ended with eight points and five assists in the victory.

Thomas, VI (Sports Network) - Scotty Hopson scored a game-high 25 points to pace 10th-ranked Tennessee to a 105-66 rout of East Carolina in an opening- round Paradise Jam contest.

Bobby Maze had 15 points for the Volunteers (3-0), who will play DePaul in a second-round contest Sunday. Cameron Tatum added 14 points, while Tyler Smith had 13 in the victory, as Tennessee shot 58 percent from the field and sank 13 three-pointers.

Iman Shumpert netted 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range for Georgia Tech (2-1), which suffered a 63-59 setback to 18th-ranked Dayton in the tournament's opening round on Thursday. D'Andre Bell and Mfon Udofia each ended with eight points.

Kevin Foster went for a team-high 15 points and nine boards off the bench, while Andre Cornelius added 11 points for George Mason (2-2), which lost by a 69-68 score to Villanova on Thursday.

Lorenzo Romar's Huskies opened up the season by hosting the Athletes In Action Classic this past week and swept the event with wins over Wright State (74-69), Belmont (96-78) and most recently, Portland State (111-55).

George Nessman's Spartans are also undefeated on the young season, although they have played just one game. On Monday, SJSU opened the season with a resounding 89-63 rout of William Jessup.

Gary Williams' Terrapins have certainly looked impressive in their first two outings, posting lopsided wins over both Charleston Southern (89-51) and most recently, Fairfield (71-42). Maryland won 21 games a year ago and with a solid nucleus returning to College Park, another strong campaign is on the horizon.

New Hampshire opened up the 2009-10 season with an easy victory over Suffolk (91-45). The Wildcats would like to get off to a fast start this season after finishing a mere 14-16 a year ago. Head coach Bill Herion is in his fifth season at the helm and the hope is that New Hampshire will improve on last year's fourth-place finish in the America East Conference.

No team nationally has been more dominant than Syracuse thus far, as it has won its first three games by an average margin in excess of 31 points. Last night, the team completely dismantled 13th-ranked California in a 95-73 final in front of the New York crowd, and there will obviously be plenty of fans wearing orange tonight. A member of the Big East Conference, Syracuse appears to be underrated and may be in position to contend for the league title in 2009-10, something that many fans didn't see as a possibility.

As for North Carolina, it lost four players to the NBA from last season's team that won the national title. Fortunately, head coach Roy Williams has done a tremendous job of recruiting, thus explaining the high national ranking. The Heels moved to 4-0 last night with

Toledo is still searching for its first win of the season, having dropped a pair to Eastern Illinois (72-69) at home, and to Cincinnati (92-68) on the road just two days ago. The Rockets are coached by Gene Cross, who with several young players and not a senior among them, will need to do a masterful job in making his team relevant in the Mid-American Conference this season.

At the other end of the spectrum is Michigan State, a team that is not only primed for a run at the top of the Big Ten Conference yet again, but should also be a serious player in the chase for the national title. Tom Izzo is the second-winningest coach in MSU history, and he already has a national championship to his credit (2000). The Spartans took care of Florida Gulf Coast (97-58) in their seas

South Dakota State is 2-0 for the first time since 2003-04 when the team ran out to a 17-0 start on its way to a school-record 27 wins. The Jackrabbits, who play their basketball out of the Summit League, took out Wyoming on the road in the opener last Friday, 77-61, and followed that with a 89-56 home thrashing of Mayville State on Monday.

Purdue is one of the favorites to win the Big Ten Conference this season, and coach Matt Painter's club had little trouble disposing of Cal State Northridge in its season opener, wiping the Matadors off the map in an 89-64 final at home last Friday. The Boilermakers are making their first appearance in th

The Jackets were pitted against one of the better teams in this tourney on Thursday and they let a late lead slip away in a 63-59 setback to 18th-ranked Dayton. It was obviously a disappointing finish for Tech, which opened the season with a 100-59 blasting of Florida A&M.

As for the Patriots, they too let one slip away on Thursday, falling just short in an upset bid of fifth-ranked Villanova, 69-68. It was a valiant effort, but one that could have been a whole lot different. GM is now 2-1 after opening the campaign with victories at home against Liberty (76-72) and Dartmouth (60-44).

This is Dayton's second game already against a Top 25 foe, as the Flyers edged 21st-ranked Georgia Tech, 63-59, in first-round action of the tourney on Thursday. It was a hard fought victory by the Flyers, who defeated a tough Creighton (90-80) club prior to heading to San Juan.

As for the Wildcats, they too were locked in a battle in their first round game, using a late rally to pull past George Mason, 69-68, on Thursday. Villanova opened the season with convincing wins over Fairleigh Dickinson (84-61) and Penn (103-65), but it nearly got caught off guard by a solid Georgia Mason squad.

Bruce Pearl recorded his 100th victory at Tennessee with Tuesday's 124-49 pasting of UNC-Asheville. It has looked very easy for the Vols in the early stages of the season thus far, as the team opened the year with a rout of Austin Peay (83-54).

Mack McCarthy's Pirates haven't exactly gotten off to a fast start, as the team has dropped two of its first three games. ECU opened with a 77-60 victory over UVa-Wise, but has dropped back-to-back games since, with setbacks to Wake Forest (89-58) and most recently, Campbell (74-68).

The Spartans have made the move to the Greensboro Coliseum this season, as the venue is celebrating its 50th year. UNCG, which is closing out a three-game jaunt through the ACC, is hoping for some better luck on its new home floor. The Spartans opened the season with a 96-62 blasting at the hands of nationally-ranked Duke and followed that up with a 59-46 setback at Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

As for the Tigers, they usually get off to fast starts under Oliver Purnell and this year is no different, as they haven't really been tested in lopsided wins over Presbyterian (84-41) and Liberty (79-39).

California opened the season with back-to-back victories over Murray State and Detroit, enabling the team to earn a spot in Thursday's clash with unranked Syracuse. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, they were completely dominated by the Orange, and the final score of 95-73 indicates that. Clearly, Mike Montgomery's squad has plenty to prove tonight, as there are undoubtedly some fans and analysts who will consider the Bears overrated.

Like Cal, Ohio State opened the season with two straight wins over rather weak opposition, but the Buckeyes were much more dominant in their outings. Then, last night, the team nearly knocked off sixth-ranked North Carolina. While that game ended in a 77-73 setback, it appeare

Houston Baptist, a member of the newly-formed Great West Conference, has had a rough go of it here in the early going, dropping all three of its games thus far -- each by double digits. All three took place as part of the Rice Basketball Challenge and came against South Alabama (76-64), Sacramento State (70-60) and the host team, Rice (60-46). The Huskies are coached by Ron Cottrell, who has led the team to an average of 21 wins per season in his 18 years at the helm, although most came as a NAIA program.

Michigan enters the 2009-10 season as one of the teams expected to challenge for the Big Ten Conference title, and the Wolverines got off to an impressive start by blasting Northern Michigan last Saturday, 97-50. Head coach John Beilein has a wealth of talent at his disposal, starting with junior guard Manny Harris and DeS

The youthful Tar Heels (4-0) now have a date with Syracuse in Friday's championship game.

"We didn't execute our press offense as well as we needed to down the stretch," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams.

Northern Arizona was ahead, 45-43, with 8:52 left in the second half when the lights went out in the Flagstaff area.

After waiting 45 minutes, game officials decided to suspend the game until further notice.

Wesley Johnson recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Arinze Onuaku added 12 points for the Orange (3-0), who advanced to Friday's title game against North Carolina.

Jerome Randle kept California (2-1) competitive with 25 points, including five treys, while Jamal Boykin added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Damian Johnson added 15 points and six boards for Minnesota (3-0), which has won all three games at home this season.

Al Nolen added 11 points, seven assists and six steals, and Paul Carter had 10 points in the win.

Sherron Collins, Marcus Morris and Xavier Henry each netted 12 points for Kansas (3-0), which was coming off a hard-fought, two-point win over Memphis on Tuesday. The Jayhawks shot 55.9 percent from the floor, including 11-for-20 from three-point land in the blowout.

Jared Rehmel led Central Arkansas (1-2) with 11 points, as the Bears shot just 25.5 percent from the field en route to dropping two straight since a season- opening win over Hendrix.

4 Kentucky withstood a three-point barrage from Sam Houston State to come away with a 102-92 victory in the first round of the Cancun Challenge.

Patrick Patterson had 20 points and nine boards for the Wildcats, who got all their scoring production from the starting five. John Wall, who hit a last- second shot to knock off Miami-Ohio on Monday, chipped in 21 points and six assists, while Eric Bledsoe added 19 points and six helpers in the win.

5 Villanova to a 69-68 comeback victory over George Mason in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-off.

The Wildcats (3-0) trailed by four in the final minute before consecutive thee-balls from Maalik Wayns and Armwood stole the victory away from George Mason (2-1), which went 4-for-8 from the foul line down the stretch and failed to get a shot off during its final possession.

Williams finished with 13 points for the Flyers (2-0), who opened their season last Saturday with a 90-80 victory over Creighton. Chris Johnson led Dayton with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Fabrizius contributed 12 points in just seven minutes off the bench.

Dayton will next meet the winner between Villanova and George Mason on Friday in the winner's bracket of the tournament.

North Carolina has lost a great deal from last year's national championship team, but Roy Williams has done a remarkable job reloading the arsenal in Chapel Hill, and early returns are positive, as the new-look Tar Heels are already 3-0 on the young season with double-digit wins over the likes of FIU, NC Central and Valparaiso already.

The Buckeyes are a little different in that Thad Matta has a veteran group in place to make a run at the Big Ten title and beyond. Ohio State has looked unbeatable in its first two games, posting lopsided wins over Alcorn State (100-60) and most recently, James Madison (74-44).

Brian Gregory's Flyers came into the season with a great deal of optimism and that certainly was bolstered in last weekend's season-opener, as Dayton outlasted a tough Creighton squad in the shootout, 90-80. UD is the favorite to win the Atlantic 10 this season and has had a great deal of success in regular-season invitationals under Gregory. In four previous tourneys, the Flyers have gone 9-2, including two titles - the 2003 Maui Invitational and the 2008 Chicago Invitational.

Speaking of an air of optimism, the Atlanta area is buzzing about the 2009-10 Yellow Jackets and what they may be able to accomplish in the ACC. Paul Hewitt's team got its season underway last Saturday, with an easy 100-59 whipping of Florida A&M.

The Patriots were in action as recently as Sunday, when they picked up a 60-44 victory over Dartmouth. It marked the 18th straight home win for GMU, which opened its 2009-10 campaign with a triumph of Liberty (76-72) at home.

As for the Wildcats, they also carry a 2-0 ledger into this game, with both wins coming in convincing fashion. The team most recently trounced local foe Penn, 103-65, on Monday prior to opening its season with an 84-61 besting of Fairleigh Dickinson. This tourney represents Villanova's third appearance in Puerto Rico and first since capturing the Puerto Rico Shootout in 1996.