Associated Press
The NHL Roundup …
RALEIGH ó Jason Arnott and Shea Weber scored two goals apiece Sunday to help the Nashville Predators to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Scott Nichol also scored for the Predators, who never trailed and had little trouble ending a two-game losing streak. Martin Erat also had two assists, while Dan Ellis finished with 24 saves.
Nashville scored the game’s first four goals and killed off a series of early Carolina power plays to take control. The Hurricanes tried to make it interesting with a pair of goals early in the final period, but Carolina couldn’t recover from its awful start.
Matt Cullen had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Chad LaRose also had a goal for Carolina.
The Hurricanes had won three straight games coming in, but didn’t mount much of a challenge early. The Hurricanes went 0-for-5 on the power play in the first period ó including almost 2 minutes worth of 5-on-3 play ó and trailed 1-0 when Arnott scored on a 2-on-1 chance about 6 minutes into the game.
Nashville took advantage of Carolina’s sluggish start with its three-goal burst in the second,.
Cullen’s goal was his first since Oct. 28 at Montreal.
Devils 7, Lightning 3
TAMPA, Fla. ó Dainius Zubrus tied a team record with four goals to help New Jersey win its season-high fourth straight game, 7-3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
Zubrus, who entered with two goals this season, completed his four-goal effort in the third with a breakaway goal at 7:22 and on a shot from the slot with 5:22 left to play.
Mike Rupp, Zach Parise and Brian Gionta had the other New Jersey goals.
Radim Vrbata, Martin St. Louis and Ryan Malone scored for the Lightning, who are 1-1-2 under interim coach Rick Tocchet.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands ó Hasheem Thabeet had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and A.J. Price added 13 points and 11 rebounds in second-ranked Connecticut’s 76-63 victory over No. 17 Miami on Sunday night in the Paradise Jam.
No. 3 Louisville 81, South Alabama 54
LOUISVILLE, Ky. ó Freshman Samardo Samuels was dominant for the second straight night, scoring 24 points for Louisville in the Billy Minardi Classic final.
No. 15 Arizona State 61, Pepperdine 40
TEMPE, Ariz. ó James Harden scored a career-high 33 points and had 12 rebounds to lead Arizona State to the victory.
Missouri 83, No. 19 USC 72
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico ó DeMarre Carroll had 29 points and 11 rebounds Sunday to help Missouri upset Southern California in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip Off.
J.T. Tiller added 14 points and Leo Lyons finished with 13 for the Tigers (4-1), who shot 55 percent and outscored the Trojans 46-29 in the second half.
Dwight Lewis scored 15 for USC (3-2), which went 15-of-28 from the free-throw line. Taj Gibson added 11 points and eight rebounds and Daniel Hackett also had 11 points, but committed eight of Southern Cal’s 19 turnovers.
Seton Hall 77, Virginia Tech 73
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico ó Jeremy Hazell scored 23 points to lead Seton Hall past Virginia Tech 77-73 in the third-place game of the Puerto Rico Tip Off.
The Hokies (3-2) were led by Malcolm Delaney, who scored 25 points, and A.D. Vassallo with 22. Jeff Allen added 17 points and 17 rebounds.
NORTH CAROLINA
CHAPEL HILL ó North Carolina coach Butch Davis won’t know who his starting quarterback will be for a few more days.
Davis said Sunday during his weekly teleconference with reporters that he hopes to settle on the starter for this week’s Duke game by Tuesday.
He expected to review film of the Blue Devils later Sunday night and “try to figure out who gives us the best chance to win the game.”
The quarterback position was a trouble spot last week for the Tar Heels. T.J. Yates returned from a broken ankle to throw an interception, and Cameron Sexton was picked off twice in a 41-10 loss to rival North Carolina State.
GOLF
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. ó Defending champion Tommy Armour III made a 36-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a three-way playoff with Scott Simpson and Brock MacKenzie on Sunday to win the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational.
The 49-year-old Armour, a two-time PGA Tour winner, began the day with a five-stroke lead over Rich Beem. But Armour finished regulation with a 4-over 76 in a round that included four bogeys, a double bogey and two birdies.