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--> --> Wagner settles down in college debut By The Associated Press Dajuan Wagner started his first college game with freshman jitters and finished with big-time reviews. "I think he lived up to the hype," Wofford coach Richard Johnson said. "And, in his case, that's almost impossible." Wagner missed his first five shots before settling down to finish with 18 points and four assists, leading No. 12 Memphis to an 88-61 victory over Wofford in the opening round of the inaugural Guardians Classic on Tuesday night. "I was a little anxious," Wagner said. "As long as we get the win, I'm satisfied. It doesn't matter if I score two points as long as we win." The Tigers will face Old Dominion, a 69-52 winner over Sacramento State, in a second-round game Wednesday night in the 16-team tournament, which was played at four regional sites. A ranked team was at home at each of the sites, and all won Tuesday as No. 8 Missouri beat Tennessee-Martin 89-63; No. 9 Iowa defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore 89-59; and No. 24 Alabama crushed Mississippi Valley State 107-67. The regional winners advance to the tournament semifinals and finals next week in Kansas City, Mo. In Tuesday's only other game involving a ranked team, No. 20 Southern California beat Wyoming 68-55 in the opening round of the Preseason NIT. Wagner, who scored 100 points in a high school game, finished 6-of-17 from the field, but missed all four of his 3-point attempts. The Tigers opened the second half with a 20-2 run for a 63-31 lead when Wagner - the son of former Louisville star Milt Wagner, who is a member of the Memphis coaching staff - hit two free throws with 13:13 remaining. Memphis coach John Calipari was impressed with an assist by Wagner late in the game. With subs waiting at the scorer's table, Wagner was on a breakaway, but gave up the ball to Kelly Wise for a layup. "That was my favorite play of the game," Calipari said. "The kid just wants to win." Scooter McFadgon added 17 points for the Tigers, while Wise had 14 and Chris Massie 13. Massie and Wise each grabbed 11 rebounds as Memphis controlled the boards 48-24. Justin Stephens led the Terriers with 19 points and six assists. No. 8 Missouri 89, Tenn.-Martin 63 Kareem Rush had 28 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Tigers, who took control with a 20-2 run midway through the first half. Missouri will play Air Force, which beat Yale 68-62, in the second round. Jeremy Sargent had 13 points for Tennessee-Martin, which missed 19 straight shots during one stretch and went 8:40 between baskets. No. 9 Iowa 89, Md.-Eastern Shore 59 Reggie Evans matched his career high with 30 points and Iowa used a 20-3 run to take a 45-18 halftime lead. The Hawkeyes will play Boston University, which beat New Orleans 69-63. Evans, who led the nation in rebounding last season, was just too strong inside for Maryland-Eastern Shore. He grabbed 15 rebounds, was 10-of-14 from the field and constantly drew fouls, going 10-for-13 from the line. Josh Hickman and Thomas Trotter led Maryland-Eastern Shore with 13 points each. No. 20 Southern California 68, Wyoming 55 Sam Clancy scored 22 points and newcomer Jerry Dupree added 13 to lead the Trojans, who will play at Fresno State on Thursday night in the second round of the Preseason NIT. Fresno State beat Montana State 92-70 Tuesday. Clancy and Dupree scored the first six points of the second half as USC took the game's first double-digit lead, 42-32. Josh Davis, last season's Mountain West player of the year, led Wyoming with 16 points. No. 24 Alabama 107, Mississippi Valley St. 67 Rod Grizzard helped Mo Williams get his college career off to an impressive start. Williams scored all 15 of his points in the first and No. 24 Alabama went on to a 107-67 victory over Mississippi Valley State in the opening round of the inaugural Guardians Classic on Tuesday night. "I wanted to come out and get loose, but they were in a zone and Rod swung it out to me. Luckily I hit it," Williams said. The Crimson Tide, who led by as many as 46 points, advanced to Wednesday's second round of the 16-team tournament and will play Samford, which beat Loyola Marymount 72-60. Grizzard, who had 22 points, and Williams helped Alabama to a 59-24 halftime lead. "There was a lot of intensity on the court," Williams said. "It was good that we came out and took a lot out of them in the first half." The Crimson Tide scored the first 10 points of the game. After the Delta Devils came back with the next five points, Alabama went on a 38-13 run to take its first 30-point lead. Alabama was 10-of-18 from 3-point range in the first half and shot 57 percent overall in the opening 20 minutes. "This season we wanted to jump out early," Grizzard said. "Now it was time to come out and make a statement." Alabama had a 46-point lead three times during the game. Mississippi Valley State's D'Jamel Jackson finished with 32 points, while Steven Redd added 14. "I played with Williams in high school," Jackson said. "He should have been on varsity when he was in ninth grade, so we knew he was going to be something special. He always worked hard." Terrance Meade had 17 points and Earnest Shelton added 15 for Alabama, which returned all five starters from last season. Alabama overpowered the Delta Devils in nearly every area. The Crimson Tide outscored Mississippi Valley State 38-14 in the paint, pulled down 27 more rebounds and shot better. "Alabama has a real fine basketball team," Mississippi Valley State coach Lafayette Stribling said. "They had a great team last year and they have everybody back, plus Mo Williams." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing