ORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - This much is safe to say: The University of Massachusetts doesn't need a couple of days off. The 25th-ranked Minutemen entered last night's contest against the College of Charleston after a 13-day hiatus.

Yet for all of coach Bruiser Flint's tireless emphasis before and during that break that his team must come to play for 40 minutes in every outing, it appears only one player has gotten the message.

With his 34-point performance, guard Monty Mack showed last night he is ready to lead the Minutemen. Whether his teammates follow his lead will determine whether they stop losing winnable games: Charleston's 77-75 victory over UMass last night proved again that one player can't do it alone.

Mack's point total - which included 21 in the second half - was a career high and the most scored against Charleston since Feb. 3, 1993. He put UMass up, 36-32, with a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer and almost single-handedly kept UMass (1-2) from being blown out late in the contest with three 3-pointers over the last 2:03.

Audio clip: Listen to some of Bruiser's post-game comments. 86k WAV Courtesey: WHMP

''He played well,'' said an irate Flint. ''Monty's not the problem.''

The problem was a lack of support. UMass center and NBA prospect Lari Ketner, last season's leading scorer, was a virtual no-show: 5 points, 1-for-2 shooting, 0 rebounds, 1 block.

Power forward Ajmal Basit had 9 points and 7 rebounds but played just 16 minutes because of foul trouble. The rest of the UMass rotation was 10 for 26 from the floor.

Meanwhile, center Jody Lumpkin had 22 points and 7 boards to lead four players in double figures for Charleston (3-1), which also appeared inept at times yet outrebounded the much taller Minutemen, 39-27, and outhustled the visitors most of the evening.

Mack's final trey, with 18 seconds left, got UMass within 2 at 74-72. After a Charleston free throw, UMass guard Charlton Clarke, who scored 8 of his 10 points in the final minute, sank two free throws to make it a 1-point game, 75-74.

With six seconds left, Carlos Brown sank two free throws to put Charleston back up by 3. Clarke raced up the court and was fouled as he missed a 3-point attempt with less than a second left, giving him three shots at the line and a chance to tie. He sank the first but missed the second and third, and the crowd of 6,772 stormed the court in celebration.

''Mack was sensational in his ability to keep them alive,'' said Charleston coach John Kresse. ''He kept them right in the game until the clock showed 0.2 seconds. Not until that time did I feel the game was possibly over.''

So disgusted was Flint that he said he might shake up the rotation before Saturday's game against Marshall.

Asked if he would bench Ketner, Flint said, ''We'll see. He guarded himself. He was awful. He stunk.

''Some guys, they need to do some soul-searching. I'm tired of watching this.''

As for Mack, this marked the third consecutive game he has showed signs of leadership. He had a game-high 24 points in the season-opening win over Niagara and tied for the team high with 15 points in the Nov. 18 loss to St. John's. Other parts of his game lagged in the latter contest, but last night he also had three steals and three assists.

''I think I came ready to play,'' said Mack. ''I know I made some mistakes and the whole team made mistakes but I came ready to play and I made the shots I took.''

As for the rest of the team?

''We're not mentally tough yet,'' said Mack. ''As soon as someone does something wrong, we get down. As soon as we stop that, we'll be ready to play.''

he College of Charleston's seven-point lead had dwindled to one Tuesday when Carlos Brown stepped to the free-throw line.

With 6.7 seconds remaining, and Massachusetts charging hard, it was time for some divine intervention.

"I think a higher being was helping my hand up there," Brown said.

The senior sank the first shot then watched the second dance on the rim before falling through, helping the Cougars hang on for a 77-75 upset at the North Charleston Coliseum.

"This was two heavyweights playing gutty, never-say-die basketball," Cougars coach John Kresse said. "It was a real nail-biter."

Brown's free throws gave the Cougars a 77-74 lead, but the game wasn't over.

UMass guard Charlton Clarke was bumped from behind by Carl Thomas on a potential game-tying 3-point attempt with two-tenths of a second left, sending him to the line with a chance to knot the score.

Clarke, a 73 percent career shooter from the line, hit the first shot but missed the second. He intentionally missed the third attempt but the loose ball was batted harmlessly away, sending the Cougars' home-game-record crowd of 6,772 pouring onto the floor for a frenzied mid-court celebration.

It was a redemption of sorts for a team that had struggled through its first three games, which included a blow-out loss at Georgia and a battle against NCAA Division II Pfeiffer.

All the problems that had surfaced in those games - poor perimeter defense and difficulties with the half-court offense - seemed like distant memories Tuesday night.

"We were kind of up and down at the beginning of the season, but I can truly say we came together as a team tonight," forward Sedric Webber said.

The Cougars (3-1) trailed by five with 11:55 remaining but swept past the Minutemen (1-2) with a furious 17-5 run that was keyed by a tenacious defense and 60 percent shooting.

"We've had some very fine practices and tonight we got some great inside-outside basketball," Kresse said. "We used our quickness at times to get some really good looks."

Charleston also did some major damage while standing still. The Cougars, who hit just 5-of-9 free throws in the first half, made them when they counted over the final 20 minutes. They were 18-of-23 from the line in the second half including 11 of 12 over the last 1:11 of the game.

The Cougars were down by four points at halftime, but Jermel President's 3-pointer from the top of the key tied the score at 50-50 with 9:22 left. Webber intercepted a pass on the other end, and after working the ball down low, slipped a nifty pass between two defenders to Jody Lumpkin for an easy two points.

Charleston never trailed again.

Lumpkin had seven of his team-high 22 points and a steal during the decisive run, which he capped with a three-point play when UMass center Lari Ketner picked up his fourth foul.

Lumpkin also had seven rebounds to help the Cougars beat the taller Minutemen, 39-26, on the boards.

"They got a lot of second shots, and Lumpkin made a living on that," UMass coach Bruiser Flint said.

"That's what killed us."

Lumpkin, who scored Charleston's first two points by grabbing a rebound from the 6-10, 285-pound Ketner and shooting over him, also came up big on defense. The 6-8, 250-pound sophomore helped double-team the massive Ketner, limiting him to five points and no rebounds in 13 foul-plagued minutes.

President had 16 points for Charleston, Danny Johnson added 14 and Brown chipped in 10.

President and Johnson combined for all four of Charleston's 3-pointers.

Monte Mack carried UMass on his shoulders, scoring 34 points on 12-of-20 shooting including 6-of-8 from behind the arc. Clarke was the only other Minuteman to score in double figures with 10 points.

The Cougars' next game is Friday against South Carolina in the Food Lion MVP Classic in Charlotte. They take on No. 3 North Carolina Saturday.

ust in time to start the biggest regular-season week in College of Charleston basketball history, there was an outbreak of Lumpkin Mania Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.

As the Massachusetts Minutemen ran out of precious seconds, students and others in the crowd of 6,772 stormed the floor to celebrate the Cougars' return to the upset business.

Not that they ever closed up shop. It's just that before pulling a U-turn against UMass with an in-your-face, razzle-dazzle thriller of a 77-75 Cougar victory, coach John Kresse's guys had been stunningly average.

A 2-1 record included a no-contest loss at Georgia and a weak win over Pfeiffer. Rarely does one of Kresse's teams fail to meet expectations two games in a row.

Blame a commitment to building a better halfcourt offense. Blame lapses on defense, or an adjustment to the 6-8, 245-pound Jody Lumpkin, the kind of pure post player Charleston didn't have a year ago.

Even if some veteran Cougar watchers were beginning to worry, the Cougars themselves weren't.

Lumpkin shrugged those big shoulders of his.

"It was just the start of the season,'' the Columbia native said after scoring a team-high 22 points. "We hadn't put everything together.''

Another Lumpkin shrug.

"I think we can be better than we were tonight,'' he said.

The two Carolinas

That's intriguing, because the Cougars play Friday night against South Carolina and Saturday night against North Carolina in the Food Lion MVP Classic in Charlotte. For a program that 10 seasons ago had consecutive games against Allen, Coker and Erskine, this week is a chunk of schedule from hoop heaven.

This UMass team didn't have its most famous basketball alum, Julius Erving, and John Calipari isn't the head coach anymore. But the Minutemen were ranked in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll and coach Bruiser Flint's guys are physical enough to live up to the man's nickname.

The second largest crowd to see a college basketball game at the North Charleston Coliseum got a treat. It's hard to beat a down-to-the-buzzer battle in which the home team wins and the visitors miss two free throws at the end. That UMass is the best team on the Cougars' home schedule is icing.

"That was one of the finest basketball games Charleston has ever seen,'' said no less an authority than Kresse. "It was a great show for the fans. Oh, what if those last two free throws had gone in?''

The whole College of Charleston family pulled together to pull this one off. Free bean-bag toys attracted kids (and their ticket-buying parents). They showed off Anthony Johnson and his retired jersey before the game.

The Charleston crowd did their best to distract Charlton Clarke when it came down to crunch time.

It was real loud. Cheering students rushed behind the basket and waved arms in an attempt to distract UMass foul shooter Charlton Clarke with 0.2 seconds left.

"The fans were a factor,'' Kresse said. "The crowd pulled us through.''

Simple execution

Even before the frantic final seconds, Charleston shook off the doldrums of Georgia and Pfeiffer.

Guard Danny Johnson, whom Clemson should have never let transfer, nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Lumpkin blocked two shots in a row against forward Chris Kirkland, resulting in a jump ball and a possession arrow pointing toward the Cougars.

Guard Jermel President was slammed to the floor as he went for a loose ball but managed to flick it ahead to a teammate on a fastbreak. Guard Shane McCravy threw a sweet alley-oop pass to Johnson, who converted from above the rim.

Forward Carlos Brown went up for a shot, switched the ball from one hand to the other in midair and zipped a pass to Sedric Webber, charging the lane for a basket.

In other words, vintage stuff.

"It was execution,'' President said, "and hitting open shots.''

The players were as reserved as parishioners within a few minutes after the game.

"When you guys (the media) leave, we'll hoot and holler in the lockerroom and enjoy this,'' Brown said. "But by midnight, it'll be well and done. We'll be focused on the next game.''

Cougars vs. Gamecocks.

Last year's iceman Charlton Clarke cracked under pressure, missing the potential game-tying free throws.

ORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston is no longer a college basketball secret, but the University of Massachusetts remains a bit of a mystery.

For the second straight game, UMass made a desperate comeback attempt in the final minutes, and this time nearly pulled it off. But when the second of Charlton Clarke's three free throws with less than one second left rimmed out, the Minutemen had suffered a wrenching 77-75 loss at North Charleston Coliseum.

UMass (1-2), which tried to make up a double-digit deficit and failed against St. John's 13 days ago, lost despite Monty Mack's career-high 34 points. Mack scored 16 of UMass' 20 points in one second-half stretch, but it was Clarke who came alive in the final minute, and was fouled by Charleston's Carl Thomas on a desperation 3-pointer as time was running out.

UMass trailed 77-74 at the time, and Clarke - a proven clutch performer - hit the first free throw. But the second one rolled out, and Clarke had to miss the third on purpose. Kitwana Rhymer's desperate tip wasn't close, and Charleston (3-1), which has built a reputation on beating big-time teams, had done it again.

The Cougars had trailed 36-32 at halftime, but opened the second half with an 8-2 surge and led 70-64 with 51 seconds left. Clarke had been cold all night, but hit a 3-pointer to cut the gap in half.

Charleston protected its lead with 8-for-8 free throw shooting in one sequence. But Mack's 3-point shot made it 74-72 with 19 seconds left, and Thomas missed the first of two free throws, but hit the second to make it 75-72.

Clarke scored on a drive to the basket, and after Charleston's Carlos Brown hit two free throws with six seconds left, Clarke came racing down the floor with a last shot. Thomas fouled him just before the horn sounded, but Clarke couldn't make all three, and UMass lost its second straight heading to Saturday's game at Marshall.

Charleston negated UMass' size advantage with the help of 6-foot-8 Jody Lumpkin, who scored 22 points with seven rebounds. Guard Jermel President also played a stellar floor game for the Cougars, helping to offset an outstanding defensive performance by UMass forward Chris Kirkland.

The 6-6 junior made Charleston forward Sedric Webber ineffective throughout the game, but so was UMass center Lari Ketner, beset by foul trouble against a smaller but active Charleston front line.

President had 16 points and guard Danny Johnson 14 for Charleston. Webber had only four, but Ketner managed only nine for UMass, which was also outrebounded 39-26 - including 20-8 after halftime.

College of Charleston, coming out after two unimpressive wins and a 21-point loss to Georgia, jumped to a 20-13 lead after nine minutes. The Cougars found the lane open against the UMass defense, and the Minutemen, who had hit an Atlantic-10 best 45.5 percent of their 3-point shots (15 of 33) coming into the game, struggled from the outside.

But the UMass size advantage paid dividends as the half wore on, even with Ketner sidelined after picking up two early photos. Ajmal Basit played a strong game under the boards, and Rhymer and Anthony Oates each gave valuable minutes against a Charleston lineup whose tallest player was 6-foot-8.

A 3-point basket by Mack at the first-half buzzer gave the Minutemen their 36-32 halftime edge.

The Minutemen shot 46.4 percent from the floor, but Charleston shot 49 percent for the game. UMass also missed 11 of 24 foul shots, though the late rally left the UMass 3-point shooting at 61 percent (8 for 13).

Clarke ended with 10 points, almost all in the flurry at the end.

HARLESTON, S.C. - He has been trumpeted as a candidate for All-America and a potential NBA lotery pick. But Lari Ketner is in Bruiser Flint's doghouse, so much so that the University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach is thinking about benching him.

"He was awful", Flint said after the 77-75 loss to College of Charleston last night, when Ketner's line included two shots, one basket, five points and for the first time in his career, no rebounds.

While Jody Lumpkin was scoring 22 points with seven rebounds in the Charleston pivot, Ketner was limited to 13 minutes because of foul trouble, and Flint says he's just about had it with a player who's talent is the cause of less debate than his resolve.

"He shut himself down," Flint said. With Lari, it's mental." Flint didn't place the blame solely on Ketner's shoulders last night, though he predicted lineup changes for Saturday's game at Marshall, and made it clear that Ketner's spot might be one of them.

The coach though UMass (1-2) came out fairly hard, but didn't react well when things went wrong, costing them as win that he said might have been a springboard for better things to come.

But in his post game comments, the biggest culprit was Ketner, who was not available for comment. Flint said his senior center, who sat out his freshman season because of academic rules, has a chance to regain the year and return next year, if UMass can successfully petition the NCAA - as other schools have done in similar cases.

Last night wasn't a good time to ask Flint whether that was a good idea. After scoring 16 points with nine rebounds in the opener against Niagra, Ketner shot 6 for 16 in losses to St. John's and Charleston, and UMass was pounded on the boards in both games by smaller teams.

KILLER INSTINCT MISSING: Flint is clearly worried about a deeper problem on his team, that the club has no killer instinct and in fact, might be too nice.

"That's the toughest thing about it," he said, asked if players would have to alter their personalities to succeed in the pressure of close games. "We have only one guy that gets in people's faces, and that's Junior (Charlton Clarke)".

Because of that, Flint generally absolved Clarke of blame last night, even though the senior scored only two points in the first 39 minutes, got hot at the end but missed a free throw at the buzzer that could have helped force overtime.

"That's a tough situation, althoough we know he's done it before," said Flint, recalling Clarke's three free throws (the last two of which he missed) with two-tenths of a second left. He had to make all three to force a 77-77 tie and overtime.

Monty Mack, whose 34 points was a career high, agreed with Flint that the problem with UMass is more mental than physical.

"Like the coach says, we're not mentally tough yet," Mack said "If we can change that, I think we'll be a pretty good team."

HARLESTON, S.C. - Trailing 77-74 to the College of Charleston with 7.6 seconds left in the game, University of Massachusetts senior guard Charlton Clarke took the inbounds pass and raced the length of the floor. Just one step inside the NBA three-point line, he pulled up and fired as he was knocked to the ground by Carlos Brown with two-tenths of a second left.

The shot banged off the rim, but the referee whistled Brown for the foul and awarded Clarke three shots.

He sank the first free throw, but the second bounced out. He intentionally missed the third in hopes of a miracle tip-in, but Kitwana Rhymer couldn't bat the rebound home. Cougar fans rushed the court to celebrate a 77-75 win Tuesday at the North Charleston Coliseum.

"This is one of the great basketball games that the Charleston community has ever seen," said Cougar coach John Kresse. "Two heavyweights playing gutty basketball, never saying die."

Junior guard Monty Mack was UMass' only reliable offensive threat, turning in an offensive gem that was overshadowed by the loss. He scored a career-high 34 points on 12-for-20 shooting, including 6-of-8 three-pointers.

"I just took the shots that they kept giving me," Mack said.

Mack scored 21 of UMass' 39 second-half points. When Charleston (3-1) tried to pull away late, Mack single-handedly kept the Minutemen (1-2) in the game, scoring 16 of UMass' 19 points during a late stretch.

"Monty Mack was sensational with his scoring ability to keep them alive," Kresse said.

"He's just was hitting every thing today," said Charleston senior forward Sedric Webber.

The Minutemen were outrebounded 39-26 despite the fact that no Cougar stood taller than 6-foot-8. Senior center Lari Ketner symbolized UMass' inside disaster, scoring just five points without picking up a rebound.

"We usually out-rebound everybody," UMass coach Bruiser Flint said. "I told them in the locker room that I'm tired of watching you beat each other half to death in practice and then come to the game and you don't do (expletive). You have to bring it to the game. I told some guys that they need to do some soul searching.

"It's not just about coming ready," Flint continued. "It's during the course of the game if things don't go your way, how do you react? If you don't get the ball, it you're not scoring, if you get the ball slapped out of your hands, how do you react? We have guys that put their heads down. You can't let one play dictate how you're doing."

Even Mack voiced his aggravation.

"Yeah, it's frustrating if everybody's not ready to play," he said. "If you're the only one ready to play, of course you're not going to win."

UMass continues its road trip at 7 p.m. Saturday against Marshall in Huntington, W.Va.

Tuesday, Charlton Clarke was second for the Minutemen in scoring, with 10 points. Ajmal Basit added nine points and seven rebounds.

Sophomore Jody Lumpkin led Charleston with 22 points and seven rebounds. Jermel President added 16, including 14 in the second half.

Trailing 36-32 at halftime, the Cougars went on a 9-2 run to start the second frame. UMass answered with a 9-2 run of its own, but Charleston counter-punched again. Riding two three-pointers by President, the Cougars answered with an 11-2 run that gave them the lead for good.

Trailing by six with a minute left, the Minutemen trimmed the lead to 75-74 on two free throws by Clarke. Mack quickly fouled Carlos Brown on the inbound pass, but he made both free throws to set up Clarke's last-second attempt.

"We can't keep waiting till the end of the game for guys to step up and make plays," Flint said.

hether he realizes it or not, Lari Ketner's career is taking a turn.

During his time in a University of Massachusetts uniform, Ketner has been showered with accolades: All-America candidate. First-round draft choice. Lottery pick.

That praise, however, mostly stems from his potential. People see his size, his athleticism and the flashes ... Oh, the flashes. A dominating game against Kansas here, a 34-point overpowering of St. Joseph's there, and everyone loves the guy. Those flashes make it possible to conveniently forget games like his four-point outing last year against Atlantic 10 rival Temple.

But that side of his game is becoming harder to ignore. His miserable outing in UMass' 77-75 loss to the College of Charleston Tuesday night was a glaring reminder.

Coach Bruiser Flint summed it up succinctly. "He guarded himself today. He was awful. He stunk."

Awful was defined as five points and no rebounds in just 13 minutes of foul-plagued action against a team without anyone taller than 6-foot-8.

Even facing double teams and triple teams, five points is pretty lousy, but for the 6-10 Ketner, no rebounds is inexcusable.

Even one defensive rebound might have been enough to turn the tide of a two-point game.

"They put two guys on him, then go rebound for me, big fella. Go get me a rebound on the defensive end," Flint said. "If we had come up with one of those, we might have won the game."

Since taking the court as a sophomore, Ketner has been given a lot of slack by basketball aficionados. They've cited his relative basketball inexperience (he started playing as a sophomore in high school). They've cited the rust from sitting out a year due to Proposition 48 regulations, and the pressure of having to replace Marcus Camby. Eventually, it was believed, Ketner would come into his own and become a superstar.

At the end of last season and the beginning of the current one, Ketner said things to support that theory. He talked about wanting to become a leader and becoming a player who can dominate games.

So far this year, his actions have not fulfilled the promise. He scored 13 points against St, John's, but few of those came early or late, when the Minutemen needed them most.

The hurdle appears to be largely psychological. Early misses or fouls seem to cause Ketner to get down on himself and, consequently, play worse. That cycle feeds off itself.

Flint was fed up with more than just Ketner after Tuesday's game and alluded to making changes.

"Right now we have to make some changes, some eye-openers for some people," Flint said. "If you're not bringing it every night, you gotta sit down."

Flint would say only that those changes would include "putting different guys inside."

The moves won't be easy to decide. The preseason hype about UMass' superior size has disappeared. Anthony Oates has struggled to adjust to the level of play and the coaching staff doesn't appear to have enough confidence in Kitwana Rhymer yet to keep him in the lineup for extended stretches.

Ajmal Basit played well Tuesday, scoring nine points and grabbing a game-high seven rebounds, but lack of consistency and foul trouble continue to hamper his game.

Whatever lineup moves Flint makes for Saturday's game against Marshall should send a message to Ketner. Keep him out of the lineup until he gets mad enough to prove he belongs on the floor.

"If I put you on the bench, you have to feel like, 'If he's going to put me on the bench, I'm going to show him that I deserve to be out there.' That's what I want to see," Flint said. "Show me. Come back at me and show me that you deserve to be playing. We have guys that need to do some soul-searching."

Flint wasn't talking about Ketner alone, but the big man clearly was included.

UMass could win games without Ketner, but it can't win games with him on the court as the focal point if he's not willing to play that role.

Ketner's potential has switched from exciting to maddening for UMass fans. If things don't change, the talk of All-America will switch to that of overrated.

The season is only three games old, a long way from being an unsalvageable campaign, but the clock is ticking.

HARLESTON, S.C. - According to University of Massachusetts coach Bruiser Flint, this might not be senior Lari Ketner's final year as a Minuteman.

Flint said he believes if Ketner, who was forced to sit out his freshman year as a non-qualifier due to NCAA Proposition 48 regulations, graduates on time, the NCAA might grant him an extra year of eligibility.

Currently partial qualifiers who graduate on time can get back the year they missed as freshmen, but nonqualifiers can't. However, Flint said he believes there is precedent to back up Ketner's case.

UMass has only one scholarship left for next year. It would have to be held for Ketner if his petition is granted and he chooses to stay at UMass.

* * *

The Minutemen will have several scholarships to offer prospective recruits when the players who currently are juniors graduate. That makes next year an important recruiting year.

According to Hoop Scoop magazine, things are off on the right track. Eddie Griffin, who the publication lists as one of the nation's top 10 juniors, reportedly has UMass as the leader among many schools eager for his services.

* * *

Due to the UMass football team's advancement in the Division 1-AA playoffs, UMass Athletic Director Bob Marcum, a graduate of Marshall, will miss the basketball team's trip to Huntington, W.Va. Marshall even planned to have a reception to honor him, but Marcum isn't disappointed.

"I'll take the success that our football team is having," he said.

his time, the magic wasn't there for Massachusetts point guard Charlton Clarke. Down 70-64 to College of Charleston with 51 ticks on the clock, the senior hit a three- pointer to cut the deficit in half.

Sweet memories of last season's double overtime loss to Rhode Island started flooding the minds of the Minutemen. In that game, Clarke's buzzer-beating three sent the game into an extra period, while his three foul shots extended the contest to a second overtime before the Rams slid by for the win.

Despite the disappointing finish of that game, Clarke's heroics became legendary.

Another responding score by the feisty guard against the Cougars cut the lead down to three once again, 72-69, but when the time finally ran out, the Minutemen could come no closer than 77-75.

In a game of streaks, it was John Kresse's squad who had the last laugh. With 8:54 to go in the game, a Jody Lumpkin slam dunk put Charleston up, 52-50, and was part of a dominating 13-2 Cougar run.

UMass then spent the final minutes of the game trying to catch up.

A Monty Mack trifecta brought the Minutemen to within one soon after, 54-53. Down 62-55 a few minutes later, Mack connected from downtown again, to stop a UMass scoring drought and bring the score to a closer 62-58, but his 34 total points would not turn out to be enough.

Lumpkin's 22 points and seven rebounds were plenty, though, as his play from the center position clearly outshined Massachusetts' All-America candidate Lari Ketner. The UMass pivot-man put only five on the scoreboard.

"Lari played awful," UMass Coach Bruiser Flint said, referring to the limited time his center saw on the court. Ketner was in foul trouble early in the game and, for the second straight contest, never quite found his rhythm.

Defensively, the Minutemen managed to shut down the Cougars' big scorer as well, holding senior Sedric Webber to only four points. Last year, in a UMass victory against Charleston at the Mullins Center, Webber scored 20 and grabbed eight rebounds. This season, the power forward had averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 boards going into the game, but like Massachusetts' big star, was a non-factor in this year's game in the rented-out North Charleston Coliseum in South Carolina.

What might have been a factor, however, was the nearly two week time span that passed between UMass' last game, a loss to St. John's, and this one.

"It's been long, I'll put it to you that way," Flint said. "We've just been practicing and practicing."

Out rebounded by a overwhelmingly smaller team for the second consecutive game, the Minutemen watched the Cougars gain control of 39 boards compared to their total of 26. With the size that UMass brings to the court, boasting four players at six-foot-10, Massachusetts apparently couldn't work the bugs out of their front-court problems in their extended vacation.

The wrinkles in the play of the forwards and centers has put an added weight on the shoulders of the less-celebrated guards.

In his last-second flurry, Clarke brought his scoring output up to 10 on the evening, but the senior was not nearly as effective as his backcourt mate, Mack. Back-up point guard Jonathan DePina played a solid first half, but seemed to slip behind the curtain as time went on.

The Minutemen will need to utilize their size in their next matchup, against Marshall on Dec. 5 in West Virginia.

MASSACHUSETTS (75)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Babul           21   1-3   1-3   0-1  1  4    3
Basit           16   4-8   1-2   6-7  0  4    9
Ketner          13   1-2   3-4   0-0  1  4    5
Clarke          32   3-7   3-6   0-1  2  1   10
M Mack          37 12-20   4-4   0-0  3  4   34
Oates           16   0-2   0-0   0-1  0  2    0
Depina          20   2-2   0-0   0-1  3  3    5
Cruz             0   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  1    0
Smith           13   1-3   0-1   3-3  0  0    2
Kirkland        27   2-7   1-4   1-4  1  3    5
Blizzard         2   1-2   0-0   1-2  0  0    2
Rhymer           3   0-0   0-0   0-2  1  1    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 27-56 13-24 11-22 12 27   75
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.482, FT-.542. 3-Point Goals:
8-13, .615 (Babul 0-1, Clarke 1-2, M Mack 6-8,
Depina 1-1, Kirkland 0-1). Team rebounds: 4.
Blocked shots: 5 (Basit 2, Babul, Ketner,
Kirkland). Turnovers: 16 (M Mack 3, Babul 2,
Basit 2, Clarke 2, Ketner 2, Kirkland 2, Depina,
Oates, Rhymer). Steals: 8 (Clarke 3, M Mack 3,
Depina 2).

COLL OF CHARLTN (77)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Webber          24   1-8   2-2   1-4  1  3    4
Thomas          36   3-9   1-2   2-6  0  3    7
Lumpkin         37   7-8  8-13   1-7  2  3   22
President       24   5-9   4-4   1-2  2  4   16
Johnson         32   5-9   2-3   1-5  2  3   14
Mccravy         26   1-4   2-3   1-2  6  2    4
Brown           18   3-4   4-5   3-3  1  1   10
Bolton           3   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  1    0
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TOTALS         200 25-51 23-32 10-29 14 20   77
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Percentages: FG-.490, FT-.719. 3-Point Goals:
4-7, .571 (President 2-4, Johnson 2-3). Team
rebounds: 10. Blocked shots: 6 (Lumpkin 3,
Webber, Johnson, Bolton). Turnovers: 15
(President 6, Webber 4, Lumpkin 2, Johnson,
Mccravy, Thomas). Steals: 9 (Thomas 3, Lumpkin 2,
Brown, Johnson, Mccravy, Webber).
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Massachusetts      36   39  -   75
Coll Of Charltn    32   45  -   77
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Technical fouls: None.  A: 6,772. Officials:
William Bush, John Corio, Sean Hull.