UNC spoils Thomas' debut

Deon Thompson scored 20 points to help No. 6 North Carolina spoil Isiah Thomas' college coaching debut and beat Florida International 88-72 on Monday night in the 2K Sports Classic.

Ed Davis added 13 points for the defending national champion Tar Heels (1-0), who had little trouble with the undersized Golden Panthers.

North Carolina shot 56 percent and led by double digits much of the way to kick off its centennial season against Thomas, the Hall of Fame player and former NBA coach who took over the long-struggling program in April.

His debut came on the same day his 86-year-old mother, Mary, had open-heart surgery in Chicago. He spent Sunday with her, then arrived in Chapel Hill early Monday for the Golden Panthers' shootaround at the Smith Center. He said before the game that he expected to return to Chicago today.

Tar Heels freshman John Henson (Sickles High) scored four points on 2-for-3 shooting with two assists and one rebound. He also had one block and a steal in 12 minutes of action.

Syracuse's Boeheim gets 800th victory

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Jim Boeheim became the eighth Division I coach to reach 800 wins as Syracuse beat Albany 75-43 in the 2K Sports Classic.

Bob Knight leads the career list with 902 victories. Only Mike Krzyzewski (833), Jim Calhoun (804) and the 65-year-old Boeheim are active among the eight who have reached 800.

Arinze Onuaku scored 14 points, and Scoop Jardine and Wes Johnson each had 12 for Syracuse (1-0) in the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer.

OHIO STATE 100,

ALCORN STATE 60

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Evan Turner recorded the second triple-double ever for No. 16 Ohio State (1-0) with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the 2K Sports Classic win.

UF, FSU WIN EXHIBITIONS: Host Florida cruised to a 104-53 victory over Webber International in its final exhibition game.

Freshman guard Kenny Boynton once again led the way for the Gators with a game-high 25 points and sophomore Ray Shipman provided a spark with 16 off the bench.

In Tallahassee, Derwin Kitchen scored 18 points and Solomon Alabi chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds as Florida State took a 73-61 win against Georgetown (Ky.) College.