The Associated Press

DENVER - Gerry McNamara hit nine 3-pointers and had 43 points, helping defending national champion Syracuse hold off pesky Brigham Young 80-75 Thursday.

He made six 3-pointers in last year's final against Kansas and was 9-for-13 from long range Thursday.

"Right from the beginning, from that first shot I took, it felt good," said McNamara.

The win was the 675th for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who tied Denny Crum for 18th all time.

The Orangemen (22-7), the fifth seed in the Phoenix Regional, advanced to face Maryland Saturday.

BYU (21-9)-Bigelow 5-14 4-4 17, Meads 0-1 0-0 0, Araujo 9-15 6-7 24, M.Hall 6-9 2-5 17, Lemes 4-9 0-0 12, Woodberry 0-2 0-0 0, Rose 0-2 0-0 0, Shoff 2-3 1-3 5, Jensen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 13-19 75.

SYRACUSE (22-7)-Warrick 6-13 8-9 20, Nichols 4-6 0-0 10, Forth 1-3 0-0 2, McNamara 11-17 12-16 43, Pace 1-4 0-1 2, T.Roberts 1-1 1-2 3, McNeil 0-0 0-0 0, McCroskey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-45 21-28 80.

Halftime score-BYU 42, Syracuse 42. 3-Point Goals-BYU 10-26 (Lemes 4-7, M.Hall 3-3, Bigelow 3-11, Araujo 0-1, Rose 0-2, Woodberry 0-2), Syracuse 11-16 (McNamara 9-13, Nichols 2-3). Rebounds-BYU 34 (Araujo 12), Syracuse 20 (Forth 6). Assists-BYU 19 (Lemes 9), Syracuse 12 (Forth, Nichols, Warrick 3). A-19,286

Maryland 86, UTEP 83

DENVER - Chris McCray scored 19 points, including two free throws with 13.6 seconds left, to help the Terrapins hold on.

Maryland (20-11) hit eight of its last nine free throws, including four of four in the final minute. The Terps shot only 63 percent from the line this season.

UTEP (24-8)-Williams 4-7 2-2 10, Smallwood 3-4 2-2 8, Tofi 7-9 2-2 16, Craig 5-12 1-1 14, Rivera 3-7 4-4 12, St. Amant 4-6 0-0 8, Gehrke 0-1 0-0 0, Mattear 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 3-10 9-13 15. Totals 29-56 20-24 83.

MARYLAND (20-11)-Garrison 2-8 2-3 7, Caner-Medley 3-7 4-4 12, Smith 6-9 1-4 14, Gilchrist 7-14 3-7 18, McCray 5-8 6-7 19, Strawberry 3-7 3-4 9, Jones 1-1 0-0 2, Ibekwe 2-4 1-2 5, Fofana 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 20-31 86.

Halftime score-Maryland 47, UTEP 42. 3-Point Goals-UTEP 5-17 (Craig 3-9, Rivera 2-5, Smallwood 0-1, St. Amant 0-1, Williams 0-1), Maryland 8-18 (McCray 3-4, Caner-Medley 2-4, Smith 1-1, Garrison 1-3, Gilchrist 1-3, Strawberry 0-1, Ibekwe 0-2). Fouled out-Smallwood. Rebounds-UTEP 29 (Tofi 10), Maryland 37 (Smith 8). Assists-UTEP 13 (Rivera 6), Maryland 17 (Gilchrist 5). Total fouls-UTEP 25, Maryland 20.

Stanford 71, Texas-San Antonio 45

SEATTLE - Josh Childress scored six of his 26 points during a key 12-0 burst midway through the second half for the Cardinal.

Stanford (30-1), the No. 1 seed in the Phoenix Regional, won its first-round NCAA game for the 10th straight year and will play eighth-seeded Alabama (18-12) in the second round Saturday.

TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (19-14)-Hurd 7-14 3-4 18, Fuqua 1-4 3-4 5, Harbert 2-11 3-4 8, Attaway 1-9 1-3 3, President 1-7 1-1 3, Cole 0-2 0-0 0, Ivy 0-0 0-0 0, Salinas 0-0 0-0 0, Millsap 2-6 2-5 6, Posey 1-8 0-0 2, Hall 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-63 13-21 45.

STANFORD (30-1)-Childress 9-15 6-6 26, Davis 0-3 3-4 3, Little 2-4 0-0 4, Hernandez 2-6 0-0 5, Lottich 3-8 0-0 9, Kirchofer 1-2 0-0 2, Bradford 0-0 0-0 0, Weatherby 1-1 0-0 2, Moore 1-1 0-0 2, Grunfeld 1-2 2-3 4, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Haas 1-2 0-0 2, Washington 1-1 0-0 2, Haryasz 5-9 0-2 10. Totals 27-54 11-15 71.

Halftime score-Stanford 37, Texas-San Antonio 23. 3-Point Goals-Texas-San Antonio 2-15 (Harbert 1-4, Hurd 1-4, Cole 0-1, President 0-1, Posey 0-2, Attaway 0-3), Stanford 6-14 (Lottich 3-6, Childress 2-4, Hernandez 1-4). Rebounds-Texas-San Antonio 39 (Fuqua, Posey, President 6), Stanford 40 (Childress, Little 9). Assists-Texas-San Antonio 2 (Millsap, President), Stanford 11 (Childress 3). Total fouls-Texas-San Antonio 15, Stanford 20. A-15,512

Alabama 65, So. Illinois 64

SEATTLE - Antoine Pettway hit a 6-foot runner with 5 seconds left to give the Crimson Tide (18-12) the victory. Darren Brooks missed a long jumper for the Salukis (25-5) as time expired.

S. ILLINOIS (25-5)-Korn 5-10 2-3 15, Willis 2-5 0-0 4, Brooks 10-15 0-0 25, Turner 1-3 2-2 5, Hairston 0-4 0-0 0, Tatum 2-9 0-0 6, Owen 0-3 0-0 0, Young 1-5 0-0 3, Warren 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 24-59 4-5 64.

ALABAMA (18-12)-Winston 6-14 1-2 14, Davidson 2-2 0-0 4, Davis 3-8 4-6 10, Shelton 7-11 0-0 18, Pettway 2-8 2-2 6, Thomas 4-8 2-4 12, Brock 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 24-53 10-16 65.

Halftime score-Alabama 34, S. Illinois 24. 3-Point Goals-S. Illinois 12-22 (Brooks 5-5, Korn 3-6, Tatum 2-5, Turner 1-2, Young 1-2, Hairston 0-2), Alabama 7-16 (Shelton 4-7, Thomas 2-3, Winston 1-2, Davis 0-1, Pettway 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-S. Illinois 30 (Warren 6), Alabama 35 (Davis 9). Assists-S. Illinois 15 (Hairston 6), Alabama 7 (Winston 3). Total fouls-S. Illinois 14, Alabama 7.

Connecticut 70, Vermont 53

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Rashad Anderson scored 22 points to help the Huskies (28-6) give coach Jim Calhoun his 30th Tournament victory, tying Adolph Rupp for 12th on the career list.

VERMONT (22-9)-Coppenrath 3-17 4-6 12, Njila 2-3 0-0 4, Jones 1-3 0-0 2, Sorrentine 7-18 0-0 19, Hehn 1-3 0-0 3, Phelan 0-0 0-0 0, Klimes 0-1 0-0 0, Goia 0-0 0-0 0, Jensen 1-5 0-0 3, Sullivan 1-4 0-0 3, Hanson 3-3 0-0 7, Sheftic 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 4-6 53.

CONNECTICUT (28-6)-Boone 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 7-11 2-5 22, Okafor 6-10 3-6 15, Gordon 5-17 4-4 14, T.Brown 6-8 2-4 14, Villanueva 0-2 1-2 1, Armstrong 2-2 0-0 4, D.Brown 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 26-52 12-23 70.

Half-Conn. 37-27. 3-Point Goals-Vermont 11-35 (Sorrentine 5-12, Coppenrath 2-9, Hanson 1-1, Hehn 1-3, Sullivan 1-3, Jensen 1-4, Phelan 0-3), Conn. 6-14 (Anderson 6-9, D.Brown 0-1, Gordon 0-4). Rebounds-Vermont 29 (Njila 8), Conn. 42 (Okafor 14). Assists-Vermont 10 (Hehn, Sorrentine 3), Conn. 14 (T.Brown 7).