MHERST — It has come to this: University of
Massachusetts men's basketball coach Bruiser Flint said
the problem was defense, while the players started out
by talking about the offense, then conceded the defense
was bad, too.
MHERST — It has come to this: University of
Massachusetts men's basketball coach Bruiser Flint said
the problem was defense, while the players started out
by talking about the offense, then conceded the defense
was bad, too.
 Shannon Crooks collected 11 points and 8 rebounds. |
Before a Mullins Center record low crowd of 4,718, UMass (1-4) dropped its fourth straight, equaling the longest losing streak under Bruiser Flint. The Minutemen also matched their 1-4 start in 1998-99 as Flint's worst.
"We didn't guard anybody in the second half, and that was the bottom line," Flint said. "We let them pop open and hit wide-open jumpers."
UMass led by as many as nine (44-35), and still led 54-51 with 11 minutes left. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Romuald Augustin and Maris Laksa kicked off an 8-0 Friars' run, and after UMass tied it at 63-63, forward Erron Maxey (17 points) scored eight straight to make it 71-63 with 3:32 left.
"Maxey wanted the ball, he wanted to make things happen," UMass guard Monty Mack said. "And he did."
Five UMass players scored in double figures, led by Mack's 19. Kitwana Rhymer had a season-high 16 with 10 rebounds.
 Winston Smith tied a career high with 10 points, but collected them all before halftime. |
His teammates shot hastily and hit 32.4 percent in the second half, with Mack missing 11 of 15. Smith isn't expected to provide a lot of scoring, but the second half was a clinic in rushed shots and a general breakdown in floor discipline.
"Smith was the guy I was upset about, because he just worked harder than we did in the first half," said Providence coach Tim Welsh, whose 5-3 team won its third straight. "But to our credit, he didn't get anything in the second half."
In the second half, Providence shot 54.8 percent and hit five of eight 3-pointers. The Friars led 65-63 when Rhymer and DePina lost control of an otherwise uncontested rebound, and the ball went out of bounds.
Maxey made the Minutemen pay with a basket, and on its next two possessions, UMass was called for a three-second violation and Mack missed a 3-pointer on the break, with three Friars and no Minutemen positioned for the rebound.
"We've got to play with some discipline," Flint said. "We didn't carry over what we do in practice — again — and it cost us."
The Minutemen lost the boards for the fifth straight game, too. It was only 40-39, but Providence owned a 25-19 edge after halftime, when they outscored UMass 56-35.
In their last three losses, the Minutemen have been beaten by an average of 14.3 points. In second-half play this season, opponents are outscoring UMass by 11.2 points per game and in the final 17 minutes last night, the Minutemen were pounded 50-26.
Providence point guard John Linehan set a Mullins Center record for steals by an opponent with six — all in the first half. Linehan aggravated a tender hamstring in the second half and wasn't in during Maxey's decisive burst and played only 20 minutes, but still had 17 points while guard Abdul Mills had 16.
Flint had a talk with the team after the game, and there may be more self-examination today, with Sunday's game at Ohio State looming.
"I don't think it's we're afraid to lose, but when things don't go right, we get down on ourselves," Mack said.
The Minutemen don't believe what they're seeing, but they're seeing it, in some form, every night. Right now, there are no bright spots.
"Everyone on this team has talent," Rhymer said. "Being 1-4 is a shock to everybody."
MHERST — Even when things went sour for the
University of Massachusetts men's basketball team in the
past, the Minutemen could count on defense.
But not anymore.
 Winston Smith gets a good look at the basket. |
"It's a big surprise, because in the past, even when we weren't clicking on offense, we'd get there on defense," senior guard Monty Mack said. "We've got to get back to that. Everybody has got to knuckle down."
Last night, UMass knuckled under. After shooting 35.5 percent in the first half, Providence hit 54.8 percent after halftime.
For the season, UMass is giving up 43.6 points per game in the second half, a number padded by free throws that come when the Minutemen are trailing and must resort to fouling.
PERIMETER KING:
Mack hit three shots from 3-point range, giving the 6-foot-3 senior a new school record with 248 for his career. He moved ahead of Carmelo Travieso, who had 245.
Mack set the record in his 98th game. Travieso played 130 games.
The two guards' percentages, though, are close. Mack hit his record-setting 3-pointer on his 676th try. Travieso took 666 shots from outside the arc in his career, which ended in 1997 — the same year Mack sat out as a freshman for academic rules.
It wasn't a 3-point night to remember, though. Mack went 3 for 12, including 1 for 9 after halftime.
EMPTY SEATS:
The crowd of 4,718 was the lowest ever at the Mullins Center, which opened in 1993. The previous low of 4,772 came last February against La Salle.
That made last night's game the first time the 9,493-seat Mullins Center was less than half full for a men's basketball game.
RIVALRIES:
Providence extended its series lead over UMass to 22-5, and is in the midst of three straight games against Atlantic 10 rivals. The Friars, who beat Rhode Island 95-72 Saturday, visit George Washington Monday.
The Friars were at full strength against UMass, after missing guard John Linehan (hamstring, five games) and 7-foot-2 center Karim Shabazz (knee, three games) for stretches this season. Linehan scored 17 points with six steals, and was perfect from the floor - 4 for 4 from the floor, 3 for 3 on three-points and 6 for 6 from the line.
Shabazz had 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in a rugged low-post duel with UMass' Kitwana Rhymer (16 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks).
ET CETERA:
Tickets ($35 each) remain for Tuesday's game against UConn at Hartford, and may be obtained from the UMass ticket office (545-0810) . . . UMass center Micah Brand, who had only 15 blocked shots in 29 games last season, already has eight . . . Flint said this week there were no plans to redshirt Jameel Pugh, the freshman guard who has yet to play after five games . . . UMass is considering a possible tour of Chile next summer.
MHERST - Bruiser Flint breezed in and out of the postgame interview
room last night.
 Kit Rhymer had his best game of the season: 16 points, 10 boards, 5 blocked shots & 2 steals. |
``We're going to sit down and talk right now,'' he said.
Of all of the problems that have plagued Flint's UMass teams over the last four-plus seasons, you could never say they allowed people to score.
Last night, you could say that.
And nothing - not the 1-4 start that ties Flint's worst ever, and not the fact that they turned on themselves again in crunch time - can trigger Flint's ire like lazy defense.
``We didn't guard anyone in the second half,'' he said. ``We wanted them to put the ball on the floor, but then we just let them drive right by us. They stepped out and made 3s, and we didn't go out after them, and that's why we lost.
``They got penetration and kicked it out, and that was it.''
The Minutemen have now lost four straight, been outrebounded in five straight and, with last night's final, have given up 80 points in two straight games for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
Providence pulled away behind an undersized, 6-foot-6 power forward named Erron Maxey who scored 10 of his 17 points down the second-half stretch to go along with 12 rebounds - seven on the offensive glass.
The Minutemen, normally hamstrung by the NCAA's new emphasis on whistling contact, did not sink into their usual foul trouble last night. But they ultimately took a step back anyway, as Maxey took advantage of a loosely called game and some serious timidity on the part of the UMass frontcourt.
``In the first half, it was a physical game and I was playing more for the calls,'' said Maxey. ``But in the second half, I just had to play. I knew I could throw people around.''
The peak of Maxey's contribution came during an otherwise unsightly portion of the game.
His twisting layup past Kitwana Rhymer gave the Friars a 65-63 edge with 6:33 left, thus ruining a 5-0 UMass run that tied the score.
Maxey missed the free throw on the potential three-point play, but then got something better. The rebound was tipped around before finally going out of bounds off UMass guard Shannon Crooks. The Friars posted Maxey again, for the same result - a power move for a 67-63 Providence edge.
The Minutemen - who waved at treys by John Linehan (two), Abdul Mills, Chris Rogers and Maris Laksa earlier in the half, when the Friars shot their way back from a 35-29 UMass halftime lead - were about to collapse at both ends.
They lapsed into an 0-for-8 drought from the time Maxey powered past Rhymer until Monty Mack slashed into the lane for an off-balance jumper with 1:25 left.
By then, though, UMass trailed, 75-66. Maxey had already followed up his two quick hoops with two more identical shots from the paint, including a put-back.
The Minutemen were left to the sight of yet another opponent closing them out from the foul line, this time with the Friars hitting eight of their last nine free throws in the last 3:10.
Providence shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half, when the Friars also shot 5-for-8 (.625) from a wide-open downtown.
``We needed a win here to get some confidence,'' said Flint. ``I won't lie about that.''
With one of the most daunting road swings of the year coming up with Sunday's game against Ohio State, followed by a Dec. 12 game against UConn in Hartford, it's probably not a good thing that they still need that shot of hope.
oth the players and the coach of the Massachusetts men's
basketball team admitted that they needed a win last night
when they hosted Providence at the William D. Mullins
Center. They needed to build some confidence, see some
positive results and pick up some momentum before hitting
the road for a crucial three-game stretch.
 Shannon Crooks and the Minutemen were knocked out in the second half, allowing 56 points to the Friars. |
Providence used a 22-10 run over a seven-minute stretch of the second half to power past Massachusetts by a final score of 85-70. Despite shooting 50 percent from the floor in the opening frame and heading into the locker room up 35-29 at the half, the Minutemen went limp on defense in the second set and allowed the visiting Friars to pull away.
"We didn't guard anybody in the second half," said UMass coach James "Bruiser" Flint. "Guys didn't get out on their shooters; we let them pop up and hit wide open jump shots until they got back in it."
Shot selection was another thorn in the home team's side in the second half, as All-American shooting guard Monty Mack bricked seven-straight field goal attempts over a span of 11 minutes.
The Friars bounced back from a 35.5 percent field goal performance in the opening set to shoot 54.8 percent from the floor (62.5 percent from beyond the three-point arch) in the decisive second half.
"I thought they hit a lot of tough shots in the second half," said Mack, who finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting. "We came out and took a lot of quick shots, and they came back and scored off of them."
The first half saw some of UMass' most inspired play of the young season, as the team reversed some trends that had been troublesome. The Minutemen sunk 5-of-6 free throws and outrebounded the Friars 20-15 over the game's first 20 minutes, two areas where the Maroon and White had been thoroughly outclassed thus far this year.
"We did everything that I thought we needed to do," said UMass center Kitwana Rhymer, who posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and tied a career-high with five blocks. "Some things just didn't go our way."
Rhymer and company owned the middle early against a seemingly advantaged Friar front. Providence twin towers Karim Shabazz (7-foot-2) and Marcus Douthit (6-foot-10) came up with a pair of big blocks in the game's opening minutes, but Rhymer stormed back with a swat of his own and a smooth baby hook to pace the home team to an early 15-9 edge.
Providence kept it close behind the picture-perfect shooting of pointman John Linehan. The junior shot didn't miss a shot over the entire contest, going 4-for-4 from the field (3-for-3 from three point range) and canning all six of his free throw attempts to finish with 17 points. He also racked up a game-high six steals, all in the first half.
But unusual composure by UMass on ends of the floor kept the home team out in front over the final 12:40 of the first half. Senior tri-captain Winston Smith came up with a huge play with 2:13 to go in the half by soaring through traffic for a one-handed put-back off a miss by teammate Micah Brand to put the Maroon and White up 30-23.
On the ensuing Friar possession, Linehan tried vainly to find an open teammate in UMass' tenacious defensive web, until Minuteman Shannon Crooks picked his pocket and keyed a break the other way.
"We almost looked like a zone offense against their man-to-man defense," said Providence coach Tim Welsh. "We had one guy handling the ball and four guys standing around."
The Maroon and White's second-half woes started after Douhit lowered his shoulder and powered through Rhymer for two to trim the UMass lead to four, 50-46. The Minutemen shot blanks on their next possession but quickly got the ball back via a Smith swipe, and appeared poised for another deuce after setting up forward Eric Williams deep in the Friar paint.
But PC's Chris Rogers came out of nowhere to strip the ball from a leaping Williams, keying a transition the other way that ended in a Rogers three-ball from the left elbow.
"We had four or five times where we drove right up to the basket and had the ball snatched out of our hands," said Flint. "That was one of the biggest parts of the game."
Providence climbed back on top at the 10:19 mark, when freshman forward Maris Laksa connected on a three-point bomb from the left corner to hand the Friars back the lead, 57-54.
The Minutemen would lock the game at 63-all off two Mack foul shots less than four minutes later, but by the time the tri-captain snapped out of his field goal funk, the team was mired in a double-digit deficit at 75-66.
"A game like this, I don't think you can put it behind you," Rhymer said. "You've just got to learn from it, learn from your mistakes. We aren't ever going to give up on each other, that's definite."
old on one minute if you were among the fans in attendance at the William D. Mullins Center yesterday when the Providence
Friars defeated the Massachusetts men's basketball team 85-70, and are now ready to give up on the entire season.
There were actually positives to the game, and the 2000-01 campaign is not a lost cause, yet.
Yes, the Minutemen are now 1-4 with the hardest part of their schedule coming up. Yes, they were out rebounded once again, although this time it was only by a single board. Yes, they committed too many turnovers and had too many wasted positions on the offensive end of the floor.
But all hope is not lost. For the first time since the Iona win, UMass had contributors from the frontcourt and the backcourt, as Kitwana Rhymer, Micah Brand and Winston Smith combined with Shannon Crooks and Monty Mack to form a quality five-player lineup. In fact, all five players were able to reach double digits, and the formidable frontcourt gave the Friars fits in the first half.
"Smith, Brand and Rhymer were kicking our butts on the inside [in the first half]," Providence coach Tim Welsh said. "As they continue to get better the team will also get better."
The play of Smith especially frustrated Welsh going into the locker room at halftime, as his 10 points were a big part of the 35-29 lead the Maroon and White were able to muster.
"Smith was the guy I was concerned about," Welsh said. "He had not played that well before from what I had seen. But he is a tough kid and he got his 10 points because he out-toughed us. He was the guy I was upset about because he worked harder than us in the first half."
From the get-go, Smith decided to establish himself offensively, as he took it hard to the hole for two only four minutes into the game. By the time the first frame had ended, he had scored on a wide variety of moves that had the Massachusetts faithful wondering whether this was the same Smith that had been held scoreless by both Holy Cross and Marquette.
With 6:37 left in the half, he drilled a 12-footer with a man in his face for his fifth and sixth points of the evening. Then, he flew through the air to tip home a Rhymer miss, and topped it all off by sticking a pull-up jumper from just inside the foul line with 1:12 remaining to extend his team's lead to seven.
However, these were not even his best plays of the game. With 17:09 left in the second frame, Mack took an inbounds pass and missed a long two from the corner. It looked like the Friars would easily haul down the board, but somehow, in serious traffic, Smith was able to out jump the Providence frontcourt and tip the ball across the lane to Brand, who dunked it home with authority and picked up the foul.
This culminated a great two-thirds of a game for Smith, but like the rest of his team, went cold down the stretch, and failed to score a point in the second half.
"To our kid's credit, he got nothing in the second half," Welsh said.
Smith was not the only one playing surprisingly well, however. UMass seemed intent on getting the ball inside and challenging 7'2" Friar center Karim Shabazz, and Rhymer and Brand seemed happy to do just that, scoring 16 and 12 points in the contest, respectively. In addition, the two players complimented each other well on the low blocks, clearing up each other's misses on the offensive glass.
Probably the best thing the two did all night, though, was stay out of foul trouble, as that has been a serious problem for the Maroon and White all year. Rhymer did not have to go to the bench once after picking up a foul, and consequently, played a season-high 30 minutes. Brand also was able to stay out of foul trouble, totaling only a single personal in his 25 minutes of action.
In contrast, Shabazz continually had to head to the bench in the first half, due to foul trouble, despite the fact that the Friars only had six team fouls in the entire half.
"We wanted to do what other teams had been doing to us and get their big guys in foul trouble," Mack said. "In the first half we did that."
Unfortunately, the good play of Smith, Rhymer and Brand was not enough to give their team the win, but if the game is a sign of anything to come, it will be that teams can no longer key completely on Crooks and Mack, for fear of being burned elsewhere.
MHERST, Mass. -- Every opponent that plays the Massachusetts Minutemen
knows that at one juncture of every game Bruiser Flint's offense will shut down. You
just have to be ready for it.
Last night at the Mullins Center, the Providence Friars were ready. PC closed off a tough, hard-fought game with a 22-7 blitz over the final 6:51 to grab a satisfying 85-70 victory.
The Friars struggled badly on offense in the first half and UMass led for the opening 30 minutes of the game. However, the Friar offense caught fire in the final 20 minutes and UMass couldn't keep pace. After the Minutemen tied the game at 63-63, the Friars rolled off 10 straight points. UMass didn't hit another field goal until just 1:24 remained in the game, and by that point the Friars were in full control.
John Linehan battled his hamstring injury all night, but played very well for the second straight game with a perfect shooting game. He finished with 17 points and six steals in 20 minutes. Erron Maxey was a force in the decisive second half and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Abdul Mills kept UMass off balance with 16 points and four assists, and Karim Shabazz fought his way to 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Although the smallest crowd in the eight-year history of the Mullins Center (just 4,718) showed up, the Friars were pleased to win their first road game of the season and improve to 5-3 overall.
"This was a challenge game for us," Friar coach Tim Welsh said. "Our first real road game. We fought back when we needed to. We're happy."
The loss is a bitter one for the Minutemen. Over virtually his entire five seasons as the coach, Flint's teams have scored at a snail's pace. This year's group looks no different. After guard Monty Mack (19 points), no other UMass player scores with ease. UMass falls to 1-4, tying the worst start of a season in Flint's tenure. The sledding does get any easier for UMass, with trips to Ohio State and Connecticut up next.
"We'll pull ourselves out of this," Flint said. "We're too good of a team to be 1-4. We needed a win to get some confidence, no question."
Both coaches agreed the key to the game was aggression. College officials are supposed to call games tighter this season, but this one was easily PC's most aggressive of the season. Maxey, in fact, said it took him awhile to learn what he could get away with.
"In the first half, it was a physical game, they took it to us and I was playing for the calls," said Maxey, who had seven offensive rebounds. "In the second half, I had to just play. I knew I could throw people around."
UMass, which shot just 32 percent in the second half, may not be able to score with any flow in its offense but the Minutemen can pound you in the paint. That happened continually against a Friar team that had its tallest players -- Shabazz, Marcus Douthit and Maxey -- pushed around throughout the first half.
Both teams started painfully slow in the first half, but the Minutemen took control behind their thick-bodied frontcourt. The Friars bricked their way to a 3-for-16 (with five turnovers) start, but UMass wasn't much better and led only 15-9 after 10 minutes. Kit Rhymer (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Micah Brand (12 points) led the Minutemen to a 35-29 halftime lead.
"They were kicking our butts," Welsh said. "I really blistered Karim and Erron at the half. They had no defensive rebounds. We can't beat anyone like that."
Maxey and Shabazz answered the challenge, combining for 16 points and 14 rebounds in the second half. But the real key was that the Friars' shooting eyes improved. PC shot 35 percent in the first half but 54 percent in the second. PC hit eight of its first 12 field goals with a Chris Rogers 3 at 12:55 slicing the lead to 50-49. Romuald Augustin swished a wing 3-pointer to tie the game at 54-54. Maris Laksa followed with another 3, and two Linehan free throws put the Friars up 59-54, capping off a 24-10 run. PC hit 5 of 8 of their 3s in the second half.
UMass fought back to tie the score at 63-63 on a Shannon Crooks steal and layup, and two Mack free throws. But that was it for the Minutemen. Their offense completely shut down and Maxey went to work on the glass with eight consecutive points. PC's lead gradually climbed as UMass hurried up a miss and then the Friars sank their free throws down the stretch.
"We didn't guard anybody in the second half. That was the bottom line," Flint said. "Our game plan was to make them put the ball on the floor and we didn't do that. They made their 3s and we lost."
MHERST, Mass. -- It's becoming clear, painfully clear, that the Friars will go as far as John Linehan takes them.
 Eric Williams only scored 2 points while limited to 6 minutes PT. |
"I really haven't been doing anything in practice," he said. "It's really not going to get better until we have a break, but I can play with it."
Friar coach Tim Welsh must be salivating at the thought of having Linehan for 40 minutes. He had 17 points in 18 minutes against Rhode Island, and 17 in 20 minutes last night.
"John is still not right to play more than half the game," Welsh said. "Now all of a sudden he's a scorer. He's getting 17 points in half the game."
With 8:59 to go, Linehan drove to the hoop and fed Karim Shabazz for a dunk, but fell to the floor after the pass. He had to leave the game with PC leading, 61-56. He spent the next four minutes being stretched out on the sideline and riding a stationary bike behind the PC bench. During that time, senior Chris Rogers stepped in and kept a Friar rally rolling. Linehan came back in the final minutes to hit a few garbage-time free throws, but he credited Rogers with guiding the team home. Rogers scored seven points and played strong defense on UMass's leading scorer, Monty Mack.
"Chris is a really good player. I think (Welsh) is just realizing how good," Linehan said. "His confidence is really high right now."
Empty nest
Anyone who has seen games at the Mullins Center through much of the 1990s had to be amazed at the lack of life in the building last night. The crowd was announced at 4,718 in the 9,400-seat building. That's the lowest in the history of the building.
The fans have stayed away in droves over the last two seasons. The area clearly can support big-time college basketball, but apparently the fan base won't come out to see an average team. In the team's only other home game this season, 6,147 showed up for the opener, against Iona College.
UMass has only 11 home games, and no dates where the school pays a guarantee for a one-time visit from an opponent. The Minutemen have six non-league road games: Marquette, Holy Cross, Oregon, Boston University, Ohio State and UConn. There's also a neutral-court game against North Carolina in Charlotte.
The lack of fans has hurt UMass's bottom line. The school's annual report shows that the basketball program generated just $18,218 last year. That's a huge reduction from the $738,070 in 1999. Hoops money is important at UMass becuase all the other sports are huge money-losers. Football tops that list, losing $2,680,000 in 1999.
Rivalry no more
Last night was Providence's first-ever trip to the Mullins Center, which opened at UMass in 1993. The schools have played 26 times before last night, but the dawn of the Big East in 1980 stopped what was one of PC's best New England rivalries. With its win, PC leads the series, 22-5.
From 1962 to 1980 the teams played every year. Included were several games in the 1970s that decided ECAC New England titles. PC and UMass played last year at the Civic Center, with the Friars winning, 61-60, in overtime. Last night was the completion of a home-and-home contract. The series will not resume next season. PC has games scheduled with URI and George Washington, and will apparently pursue other non-league options.
Next up: at George Washington
The Friars will look for a three-game sweep of Atlantic 10 teams when they travel to George Washington this Monday. PC and GW have never met.
| Providence Friars | 85 |
| Massachusetts Minutemen | 70 |
| at the Mullins Center | |
PROVIDENCE (85)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Augustin 30 2-8 2-3 0-0 2 2 7
Maxey 33 8-18 1-3 7-12 0 1 17
Shabazz 22 4-8 2-4 2-8 0 3 10
Mills 31 4-10 7-8 0-3 4 2 16
Linehan 20 4-4 6-6 0-0 2 3 17
Rogers 23 2-3 2-2 2-3 1 2 7
Kabba 8 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Anrin 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Douthit 12 2-4 0-0 1-5 1 2 4
Laksa 16 2-5 2-2 2-2 2 2 7
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 28-62 22-28 14-34 12 17 85
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.452, FT-.786. 3-Point Goals:
7-17, .412 (Augustin 1-4, Mills 1-3, Linehan 3-3,
Rogers 1-2, Kabba 0-1, Anrin 0-1, Laksa 1-3).
Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 7 (Shabazz 4,
Douthit 2, Maxey). Turnovers: 17 (Mills 4,
Douthit 3, Shabazz 3, Linehan 2, Maxey 2,
Augustin, Laksa, Rogers). Steals: 12 (Linehan 6,
Augustin, Douthit, Kabba, Maxey, Mills, Rogers).
MASSACHUSETTS (70)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Rogers 16 0-3 0-0 1-4 1 0 0
Smith 27 5-7 0-0 2-4 1 3 10
Rhymer 30 6-9 4-6 4-10 0 3 16
Mack 37 6-19 4-4 0-1 4 3 19
Crooks 38 4-10 1-3 2-8 4 4 11
Depina 17 0-0 0-0 0-1 2 5 0
Blizzard 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Jenkins 3 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 0
Williams 6 1-2 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Brand 25 4-13 4-5 2-3 0 1 12
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 26-65 13-18 14-34 12 21 70
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.400, FT-.722. 3-Point Goals:
5-17, .294 (Mack 3-12, Crooks 2-4, Jenkins 0-1).
Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 7 (Rhymer 5,
Brand 2). Turnovers: 19 (Smith 4, Brand 3, Crooks
3, Mack 3, Rhymer 3, Depina, Rogers, Williams).
Steals: 8 (Depina 2, Rhymer 2, Smith 2, Crooks,
Mack).
__________________________________
Providence 29 56 - 85
Massachusetts 35 35 - 70
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 4,718. Officials: John
Cahill, Ed Corbett, William Bush.