Cleveland ? Seconds into his postgame news conference, coach Roy Williams peeked at the stat sheet just to make sure North Carolina was still unbeaten. Somehow, the Tar Heels were.

“I’ve never won the lottery, but when you do, I’m pretty sure you feel as lucky as I do now,” Williams said.

Jawad Williams made a critical three-pointer with 1:27 left, and No. 9 North Carolina escaped Saturday with an 82-76 victory over gutsy Cleveland State.

The 6-foot-9 junior, who went to high school in Cleveland and had 42 family members on hand, drilled his three from the right wing as the Tar Heels (3-0) overcame a four-point deficit by scoring the game’s final 10 points.

“It was a lot of fun to come home and win in front of my family and friends,” he said. “At the same time, it was a wake-up call for us. It was an ugly win.”

Omari Westley scored 20 points and Percell Coles had 15 for the Vikings (2-1).

No. 3 Michigan State 77, Penn 52

East Lansing, Mich. — Shannon Brown had 12 points off the bench, including three spectacular dunks on his 18th birthday, to help No. 3 Michigan State beat Penn. Kelvin Torbert had 15 points at power forward, a new position, and Chris Hill added 13, all in the final 21 minutes, for Michigan State (2-1).

No. 12 Illinois 75, Temple 60

Philadelphia — Roger Powell had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Deron Williams added 18 points and Dee Brown 16 to lead No. 12 Illinois over Temple. Illinois (3-0) opened the game on an 18-5 run, keyed by four three-pointers, including three by Williams.

No. 13 St. Joseph’s 75, Old Dominion 72

Norfolk, Va. — Jameer Nelson scored 24 points, including a half-court shot with less than 10 seconds remaining, to lead No. 13 St. Joseph’s past Old Dominion. St. Joseph’s led by as many as 13 points down the stretch.

No. 15 Wisconsin 55, Rutgers 43

Madison, Wis. — Devin Harris scored 18 points and No. 15 Wisconsin defeated Rutgers. The Badgers (4-0) won their 15th straight home game despite making just 3 of 20 shots from beyond the three-point arc. They made 18 of 22 free throws.

No. 16 Gonzaga 82, Georgia 76, OT

Spokane, Wash. — Ronny Turiaf scored all 11 of Gonzaga’s points in overtime and made key defensive stops in the No. 16 Bulldogs’ victory over Georgia. Turiaf led Gonzaga (3-1), which suffered its largest margin of defeat last season at Georgia by a score of 95-83, with 22 points.

Iowa 70, No. 17 Louisville 69, OT

Indianapolis — Greg Brunner scored a career-high 26 points, and Pierre Pierce made a free throw with 9.2 seconds left in overtime in Iowa’s victory over Louisville. The Cardinals’ pressure defense was effective only occasionally against the Hawkeyes (3-0).

No. 18 Wake Forest 86, Yale 61

Bridgeport, Conn. — Jamal Levy led four Wake Forest players in double figures with 19 points in the 18th-ranked Demon Deacons’ victory over Yale. Levy also had seven rebounds for Wake Forest (3-0), which forced 20 turnovers.

No. 19 Cincinnati 76, Coppin State 56

Cincinnati — Field Williams matched his career high with 24 points, hitting eight of his 10 three-point shots, and No. 19 Cincinnati relied on its trapping defense to beat Coppin State. Cincinnati (3-0) forced 29 turnovers that set up 30 of its points and prevented Coppin State (2-4) from getting too close.

No. 21 Notre Dame 78, Mount St. Mary’s, Md. 64

South Bend, Ind. — Chris Thomas scored 22 points, and Chris Quinn added 15, leading No. 21 Notre Dame past Mount St. Mary’s. Torin Francis scored 13 points, making all three field goals and all seven free throws he attempted.