Tobias Harris scores 15 in Tennessee win

For much of the first half, Tennessee freshman Tobias Harris looked as if he might dominate in his Madison Square Garden debut. On his first touch just 29 seconds in, he faced up at the left elbow of the foul line and bottomed out a jumper with a hand in his face.

Then, there was the move midway through the first half in which the former Half Hollow Hills West star spun to his left in the lane and banked in a short jumper with his left hand while his mouthpiece dangled from his lips. He was 5-for-5 at that point, and it was a great show for the Garden crowd, which included Harris' parents, sister Tesia, who plays for St. John's, and brother Tyler, who plays for St. Benedict's in Newark.

In the second half, Harris ran into foul trouble and hit a cold streak in which he missed nine straight shots. But he still finished with 15 points and helped handle the ball against Virginia Commonwealth's press as the No. 24 Volunteers pulled out a 77-72 win in the semifinals of the NIT Tip-Off Classic last night.

No. 6 Villanova (5-0) defeated UCLA, 82-70, in the second semifinal and will meet Tennessee in the championship game Friday night. Corey Fisher scored 26 points to lead the Wildcats and Maalik Wayns added 19. Mouphtaou Yarou totaled 13 points and 16 rebounds. UCLA (3-1) was led by Malcolm Lee with 13 points.

Harris actually played a high school all-star scrimmage on the Garden floor, but this was his first real game and he was pleased with the outcome.

"I thought it was a great win as a team,'' Harris said. "I played all right, but I could have been more aggressive in the second half. Some baskets could have gone in that were easy baskets. I just needed to take my time more.''

VCU (3-1), which upset Wake Forest to reach the semifinals, was a tough test for the Vols (4-0) with its quick tempo and fullcourt press. The Rams shot only 30.9 percent from the field, but they made up for it by hitting 11 of 31 three-pointers.

Tennessee guard Scotty Hopson, who topped the Vols with 18 points and added 11 rebounds, asserted himself in the second half along with Bronx native Brian Williams, who had 13 rebounds and nine points at center.

"I would have liked to have gotten Tobias more touches inside,'' Vols coach Bruce Pearl said. "It was difficult for us to get that ball into the paint.''

After Tennessee opened its biggest lead at 57-46, VCU hit three straight threes to begin a 19-10 run that cut the deficit to 67-65 with 2:52 left. Brandon Rozzell, who led all scorers with 23 points, converted a four-point play in that stretch.

The Rams also got 16 points from Ed Nixon and 12 points and 14 rebounds from Jamie Skeen. They fouled and worked the clock late, but with Harris inbounding and helping to break the press, the Vols handled the pressure.

"That's one of the things coach expects me to do against the press,'' Harris said. "This was a good test, especially coming in the NIT.''

This is the first visit home for Harris since classes began, and he was looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving with his family and a few friends from the team. "Turkey tomorrow,'' he said. "We'll all be together.''