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Massachusetts renews rivalry with No. 19 Terps
By Candice Flemming, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 1, 1995
It’s become one of the better rivalries in college basketball on the East Coast — Massachusetts vs. Maryland — and it continues tomorrow in the Franklin National Bank Classic in Landover. Md.
The No 5 Minutemen and the No. 19 Terrapins will tangle again at 12 p.m. in the first game of the two-day tournament. Florida and George Washington will face each other in the second game of the afternoon, with the winner of the two games facing off in the championship game on Sunday. The consolation game will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, with the championship to follow immediately after.
The Minutemen enter tomorrow's contest coming off its impressive 92-82 win over No. 1 Kentucky. The Terps played the Wildcats in their season opener also, but fell 96-84. They didn't play well in their second game against Towson State but pulled out the victory, 70-67.
Maryland and UMass have played each other only four times and the series is tied 2-2. The first meeting was in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament during the 1989-90 season where the Terps came away with a 91-81 win. But that was before the Minutemen became a national power. UMass finished that year with a 17-14 record.
The rivalry really started two seasons ago when the two teams met in the Abdow’s Classic in Springfield, Ma. The Minutemen came away with the 94-80 win in this matchup. The loss left the Terrapins angry because they thought that UMass was talking too much trash.
The Terrapins got their revenge in the second round of the NCAA Tournament later that season, when they beat the Minutemen 95-87 at the Kansas Coliseum. In that game, the Terps got their first taste of UMass center Marcus Camby, who scorched them for 32 points and 10 rebounds. That loss left a bad taste in the mouths of the entire UMass squad.
The Minutemen returned the favor last season (Dec. 10) with a tough 85-74 win at the Baltimore Arena. Camby was an important part of the win, scoring 15 points and grabbing a team-high 11 boards. This time around the game won't be decided on just Camby's play, but more importantly, the play of the UMass backcourt.
Maryland has one of the best backcourt duos in the country in Johnny Rhodes and Duane Simpkins. Rhodes currently leads the Terps in scoring with 26.0 points per game and Simpkins is second with 16.0 ppg. Rhodes also leads the team in rebounds with 8.5 per game. Against Kentucky, Rhodes finished with a game-high 30 points.
The backcourt is UMass' weakness. Charlton Clarke's broken foot sustained in UMass' win over Kentucky left the Minutemen's backcourt even weaker. Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso are the only UMass guards who have any extensive collegiate playing experience, which spells big trouble for the Minutemen.
Donta Bright and Dana Dingle will probably now see some time at two-guard. Another factor in tomorrow's outcome could be bench scoring. UMass somehow beat Kentucky without any scoring from its bench, but against the Terps it will need more help from the supporting cast.
UMass should have the advantage down low, as its frontcourt is much deeper than Maryland's. Camby is the main man for the Minutemen and will have to carry UMass on his back much like he did against Kentucky in order for UMass to win.
Keith Booth and Exree Hipp lead a solid Maryland frontcourt. Booth is currently the third leading scorer for the Terrapins (11 ppg) and Hipp destroyed UMass two years ago in the Minutemen's second round NCAA loss.
Massachusetts (#5) 50, Maryland (#19) 47
From The Associated Press, 12/2/1995
Marcus Camby scored 14 points and snapped a tie with 1:13 left as fifth-ranked Massachusetts edged 19th-ranked Maryland, 50-47, in the first round of the Franklin Bank Classic at Landover, Maryland.
The Minutemen (2-0) will play Florida in the championship game on Sunday. Florida defeated George Washington, 75-66.
Donta Bright added 14 points, including a jumper with 7:12 to play that give Massachusetts its first lead of the game, 43-42. Edgar Padilla's jumper put the Minutemen ahead, 47-45, but the Terrapins tied it on Duane Simpkins' jumper.
Camby then hit a short jumper for a 49-47 lead with 1:13 to go and hit the first of two free throws with six seconds left for the final margin. Keith Booth, who finished with 11 points, missed a three-pointer at the buzzer for Maryland (1-2).
The Terrapins raced to an nine-point lead in the first half, taking an 11-2 lead on a layup by Johnny Rhodes with 15:08 to play in the first half.
The Minutemen shot just 21 per cent (7-for-34) and fell behind 28-13 with just under four minutes to play before going on a 6-0 run to get within 28-19 at halftime. Camby had a rough first half, scoring four points and picking up three fouls in just 11 minutes.
“We played a very aggressive, intense basketball team today,” Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. “We played poorly in the first half because of what Maryland did to us. I am very happy with my team's 'refuse to lose' attitude. Down nine, we came back to tie and eventually found a way to win.”
Bright added 10 rebounds as the Minutemen enjoyed a 41-20 advantage on the boards. Massachusetts finished 17-of-55 (31 per cent) from the field.
Sarunas Jasikevicius scored eight points for Maryland, which fell to 2-3 all-time against Massachusetts.
“This was disappointing because of our nine-point lead at the half,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “We tried to get Camby his fourth foul, but couldn't do it. We have to be able to score at other positions than inside. We did a pretty good job defensively, but we gave up too many second shots.
UMass rises up, downs Maryland
By Joe Burris, The Boston Globe Staff, 12/3/1995
LANDOVER, Md. – Yesterday, the “U” in UMass stood for ugly. The numbers told the story: 21-percent shooting from the floor in the first half. A 16-point halftime deficit. Sluggishness. Bad timing. Inconsistency.
But the University of Massachusetts kept coming – and Maryland's 16-point had lead dwindled to 9 at halftime. That's when you knew the Terrapins had blown it. They allowed UMass back into the game. Gave the Minutemen a confidence builder. Gave coach John Calipari a theme for his halftime speech.
The second half hardly mirrored the first. The fifth-ranked Minutemen returned to the kind of relentless play that burned No. 1 Kentucky Tuesday night; UMass outplayed Maryland at both ends of the floor – particularly over the last five minutes – to register a 50-47 victory over the 19th-ranked Terrapins in the first round of the Franklin National Bank Classic.
UMass center Marcus Camby fought off a slow start and first-half foul trouble to tally 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Donta Bright also had 14 points and added 10 rebounds and frontcourt mate Dana Dingle had 10 points and 7 boards for UMass, which held Maryland to just 2 points over the last five minutes in both halves.
“We didn't come out and play the way we were supposed to play,” said Calipari, who also picked up his first technical foul of the season. “We had a lot of plays in the first half where I just said, “We can't play that way and win.”
The Minutemen (2-0) will meet Florida today; a victory could vault UMass to No. 1 in next week's national poll.
In the early going yesterday, the Minutemen's effort hardly resembled Tuesday night's. UMass scored once in its first seven possessions and didn't reach double figures until the 6:15 mark of the first half. Maryland, on the other hand, got off to a good start.
With balanced scoring and tenacious defense, the Terrapins (1-2) took a 16-6 lead midway through the first half. Things looked bleakest with 4:31 left before intermission, when guard Sarunas Jasikevicius drained a trey to give Maryland a 28-12 lead.
“We played poorly in the first half because of what Maryland did to us,” said Calipari. “We played a very aggressive, intense basketball team today.”
But Maryland couldn't add precision to its repertoire, and for the remainder of the half turned the ball over four times. Even when Maryland ran its routes well, it had trouble finishing plays. Meanwhile, with Camby on the bench with foul trouble, Dingle stepped up, tallying 7 points, 1 steal and 2 boards. UMass trailed, 28-19, at halftime.
“But then I said to them at halftime, 'Can you imagine what they did to us and we're only down 9?'” said Calipari. “I said, 'Let's try to win the game.'”
The 9-point deficit was equally disturbing to Maryland coach Gary Williams, who knew UMass headed to the locker room with the momentum.
“I thought we did a good job getting the ball inside but we didn't finish,” he said.
That carried over to the second half. Many of Maryland's problems were self-imposed. The Terps went ahead, 37-24, on a bank shot by Johnny Rhodes with 15:16 left, then turned the ball over three times in their next four possessions. UMass slowly closed the gap, and with 7:30 left took a 43-42 lead on a layup by Bright (assist, Camby).
“We got it to single digits at halftime and we knew we were going to make a run at some point in the game,” said Camby. “My teammates just stepped it up.”
The game contained only two lead changes and two ties, the latter coming when Maryland guard Duane Simpkins scored on a drive with 4:26 left to knot it at 47-47. But with 4:03 left, Camby swished a 15-foot turnaround jumper while double-teamed, then blocked Booth at the other end.
With 41 seconds left, Rhodes stole the ball from Camby and Maryland called timeout with :22.4 to go. After Simpkins missed from the key, Camby came up with the ball and sank a free throw for the final margin.
“The biggest thing is, if the other team comes out against us with more passion and more intensity, we're losing,” said Calipari. “UMass basketball is based on that.”
Florida prevented an early meeting of Atlantic-10 rivals in today's tournament final. The Gators defeated George Washington, 75-66, yesterday and will meet UMass in today's championship game at 4 p.m.
Guard Greg Williams had 20 points and forward Dametri Hill added 17 for Florida (2-1).
Today will mark only the second meeting between UMass and Florida; the Gators won the first during the 1978-79 season.
Camby is starring in the feature role
By Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe Staff, 12/3/1995
LANDOVER, Md. – The game was tied after a scrappy 37 1/2 minutes. Fifth- ranked Massachusetts was trying to complete a comeback after trailing 19th- ranked Maryland by 16 points.
It hadn't been much of a day for highly-touted UMass center Marcus Camby. After his 32-point, 9-rebound, 5-block game against top-ranked Kentucky, Camby got into early foul trouble and struggled against the Terrapins in the Cap Center.
But Camby's eyes got big when he saw 6-foot Maryland guard Duane Simpkins driving the lane in crunch time. Simpkins launched a running one-hander and . . .
“POOM.”
Poom. That is the sound of a human hand smacking a basketball and that is the sound that 16,302 heard as Camby swatted Simpkins' shot in the direction of Red Auerbach's loge seat.
This blocked shot had Ray Guy Hang Time. Several Cap Center fans could be seen calling for a fair catch. If Camby was Barry Bonds, he'd have admired his work and gone into a home run trot.
The best blocks, of course, are controlled blocks. Bill Russell, the godfather of swat, was the master of the gentle re-direction. Russell never went for the flamboyant leather sandwich. He tipped the ball to his teammate, then tried to beat the other team down the floor.
But Camby's was a demoralizing deflection. It took the air out of the Terps. The game was tied, but the game was over. When UMass next came down the floor on offense, it ran a play for Camby. Marcus got to his spot on the left baseline, took a pass, turned and shot over four arms. Two points.
“Everybody in the building knew where the ball was going,” said UMass coach John Calipari. “Everybody watching on TV knew where it was going. But he gets the ball and makes a turnaround.”
There was more. After the big bucket, Camby blocked another shot, then got the final key rebound and made a free throw. His final line was a measly 14 points with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks, but when Maryland coach Gary Williams was asked to name the difference in the 50-47 UMass win, his answer was, ''Camby.”
Camby was asked whether he'd rather drain the turnaround in traffic, or swat a shot.
He smiled. Easy question. “Definitely the blocked shot,” he said. “I like it when they are so intimidated by me on defense.”
Fools rush in when Camby's standing in the paint on defense.
Now that Lou Roe is gone, Marcus is the Man. This the way it's going to be all year. The Minutemen don't have a lot of depth, but they've got something few teams have; they've got a 6-11 center who can block shots, make turnaround jumpers while wearing defenders and handle the ball when needed.
There was speculation last spring that Camby would turn pro. No one in Amherst was certain that the Hartford native was coming back for his junior season. But that was before the Big Country incident.
In the East Regional final at the Meadowlands against Oklahoma State last March, 300-pound Bryant Reeves put his shoulder to Camby's chest early and took Marcus out of the game. Camby, who had been playing the best ball of his life, shot 2 for 10 and managed only four rebounds in 23 soft minutes. Oklahoma State went to the Final Four, Reeves went to the NBA, and Camby decided to come back to school.
Now he's the target every game. And the Minutemen will go only as far as he can carry them.
Camby has tried to put the Reeves game out of his mind.
“I don't dwell on that game,” Camby said. “If I make it to the next level, I won't be playing against any 300-pound guys.”
He's right. In today's NBA, the 6-11 Camby projects as a “small” forward. Sort of like a “jumbo shrimp” in reverse.
“He's a 7-footer who plays like a guard,” Calipari said proudly.
Williams added, “He can face the basket and put it on the floor. You don't see that very much in a guy that size.”
Today Camby will match up against Florida's best. Wednesday he goes Nike-to-Nike against Wake Forest's Tim Duncan. Duncan is regarded as the top college center in the country. Next Saturday, Camby and Co. come to Boston to face Danya Abrams and Boston College in the first annual Billy Bulger Classic.
“I always like playing against the top players and the top teams,” said Camby. “Especially on national TV. It gives me, our team and our program a lot of exposure.”
UMass and Camby won't be needing much more exposure. The secret is out. UMass-Hooterville has one of the top teams and top centers in the country.
Minutemen beat Maryland, Florida
UM extends win streak to 3, Camby and Dingle carry team
By Candice Flemming, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 4, 1995
It’s been synonymous with Massachusetts basketball — the “refuse to lose” attitude — and in Saturday's match up with Maryland, the Minutemen wrote a new chapter.
Down by 13 with 15:19 to go in the game, and with Marcus Camby playing with three fouls, the Minutemen mounted a comeback — and it was Camby who led the way. After a first half that was spent mostly on the bench due to foul trouble, Camby came back to score 10 second half points to lead No. 5 UMass to a 50-47 win over the No. 19 Terrapins.
“Camby did a great job,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams. “We couldn't get the next foul on him, which we really tried to do in the second half. He did a great job.”
The win advanced UMass to the championship game yesterday, where they met Florida, which beat up on George Washington 75-66. Maryland came out fired up at the start of the game and raced to an 11-2 lead in almost five minutes.
The Terps increased their lead to 16 (28-12) on a Sarunas Jasikevicius trey. Jasikevicius provided Maryland with a spark off the bench, scoring eight points during a 10-4 run that made it a 60 point game. (This is the text as printed in the Collegian article, but “60 point game” has to be an error.)
“We played a very aggressive, very intense basketball team today,” said UMass coach John Calipari.
UMass shot poorly in the first half (21 percent) and could have entered the half down double digits if it weren't for Dana Dingle. Down 16, Dingle went on a 7-0 run all by himself to bring the Minutemen within nine at the half, 28-19.
At the start of the second half it looked as if Maryland might pull away — two alley-oops to Keith Booth kept the score and momentum in the Terps favor. But that's when Camby took over.
The Terrapin defense was tough, trying to take Camby out of the game but he wouldn't let them.
“A lot's been said about Camby, about how good he is and you saw it out there [Saturday],” Williams said. “He just brings different elements to the game with his quickness and his size. He was the difference in the game today.”
In the 15-4 UMass run that brought the Minutemen back from 13 down, Camby showed his improved outside touch by sinking three outside jumpers including one just under the three-point arc.
UMass got within two on a Edgar Padilla 15-footer and then two free throws by Donta Bright tied it up at 41. Bright gave UMass its first lead moments later on a give and go between himself and Camby. The Minutemen took the lead for good with two minutes to go when Camby sank a turn-around jumper on the left baseline.
“I'm very happy with my team's ‘refuse to lose' attitude. Down 15 we found a way to get back into the game.” Calipari said. “We found a way to make it close and found a way to win.”
A last second three-point attempt by Johnny Rhodes missed giving UM the tough victory. Bright finished with a double double (14 points. 10 rebounds) while Camby had 14 points and Dingle added ten. Booth led Maryland with 11 points and also had five steals and two blocks.
Against Florida the question as to how the Minutemen would come out after the tough, high-intensity game against Maryland was answered with UMass' 7-0 run to start the game.
On the strength of Camby's outside shooting UMass went on a 26-7 run to close out the half with a 37-18 lead. The run included a 7:05 stretch where UMass’ stingy defense held Florida to no field goals (16-0 run).
“UMass really got the respect of our guys,” said Florida coach Lenny Kruegger. “They’re touch, they’re hard-nosed, and they go to the ball aggressively. They got our attention.”
UMass pulled away in the second half increasing its lead to a game-high 29 points. Although Florida made a couple of small runs getting as close as 14 on a Dametri Hill three-point play, UMass went on to win the game 80-58.
Camby continued to display his new-found outside prowess by knocking down an 18-footer, 15-footer, 12-footer, and 10-footer, finishing with 30 points along with eight boards and two blocks.
Dingle was a force on the boards pulling down a game-high 12 (nine points). Padilla and Carmello Travieso once again played almost the entire game. Padilla was, as he was all weekend, solid, dishing out 10 assists while making three steals. He had five turnovers on the day. but Calipari was pleased with the junior's play.
“Two to one is a good ratio for him,” he said. “He's really, really making progress. He's fearless out there.”
Travieso finished with 11 including three treys.
In UMass' game against Kentucky and again in Saturday's game against Maryland, bench scoring was a problem. But against Florida the Minutemen got the bench scoring they needed. Inus Norville and Tyrone Weeks led the way scoring eight and five points respectively. Norville also grabbed six boards.
“Inus Norville was great [yesterday]. I was proud of him,“ Calipari said. “Tyrone was nasty [yesterday]. He did well.”
Bright finished with eight points, six rebounds as UMass finished with a 46-28 rebounding advantage. Hill and LeRon Williams led Florida with 12 and 17 points respectively.
UMass, now 3-0, prepares for Wake Forest.
Defense is key in win for UM Minutemen
By Justin C. Smith, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 4, 1995
LANDOVER. Md.— Entering this weekend’s Franklin National Bank classic, there were many questions still surrounding the Massachusetts men’s basketball team.
Would there be a let down after the upset of top-ranked Kentucky? How would the two guards hold up playing games in consecutive days? Would Coach Calipari use anyone else at the position? What players would step up for UMass? And could Marcus Camby continue his dominance over the opposition?
The answer to the last question was a resounding “yes.” In UMass's two wins over Maryland and Florida, Camby, who was voted the most valuable player of the two day tournament, was nothing short of awesome. The Hartford native scored 44 points on the weekend, 30 of them coming in the championship game, as well as grabbing 15 boards, and swatting six shots. More important than the statistics may be the fact that the confidence of a go-to-guy was exhibited when the Minutemen needed someone to look to in the clutch.
With Saturday's contest with Maryland tied at 47, and just over two minutes remaining in regulation, the UMass offensive set got Camby the ball on the baseline. From there he hit what is quickly becoming his best offensive weapon, a turn around jumper which was the decisive basket of the game. The Minuteman defense shut down the Terrapins the rest of the way.
In fact, when Duane Simpkins made a lay-up with 4:30 left, it was the last Maryland points of the game. That was caused by the tenacious defense and rebounding of all five Minutemen on the floor.
“We don't want Marcus to feel like he needs to be Superman,” Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. “Just play ball, be Marcus Camby, and if that's not good enough, we'll go home.”
Though with just 19 points on seven-for-32 shooting in the first half after the win over Kentucky, it seemed UMass was the victim of a let-down. Late in the first half however, senior co-captain Dana Dingle and junior Tyrone Weeks contributed to getting the Minuteman deficit to single digits before half time by keeping the Terps off the boards.
When UMass returned from the locker room, they were in striking distance and made the most of it. Behind the spirited play of Dingle (10 points, seven rebounds) and Donta Bright (14 points. 10 boards) along with a complete game played by both guards, Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso, the Minutemen came away with a 50-47 win.
The fatigue question of the two guards was put to the test after their extensive play in game one. Travieso came out of the gate quickly, hitting three of six from three-point land in the first half, while Padilla ran the point extremely effectively handing out seven assists, and committing just three turnovers in the first twenty minutes.
“[Edgar's] ratio was two to one,” Calipari said of his point guard. “He had ten assists and five turnovers, that's a good ratio for him. He's really making progress and doing some great things.“
Padilla played 36 minutes, while his counterpart was on the floor for 35 in game two. In Travieso's place for four of those six minutes missed was senior forward Rigoberto Nuñez. With four forwards on the court, UMass continued it's stellar defense, though the offense needed time to adjust.
“At first I was really confused (on offense),” Padilla said about being the only true guard on the floor. “So I looked at Coach and he was confused, too. It was hard at first but we really worked hard at it.”
Just three games into the season, it appears the Minutemen will go as far as their defense takes them, as in both wins this weekend, they held the opposition to less than 20 points in two of the four halves.
“It doesn't matter, you can shoot great one night,” Padilla said, “and not shoot well the next, but you can always play good defense and there’s no excuse for not playing defense.”
Video highlights from ESPN, Season banquet video
MASSACHUSETTS (50) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Dingle 35 3-8 4-5 4-7 1 2 10 Bright 28 4-13 6-6 4-10 0 4 14 Camby 30 6-14 2-4 2-7 2 3 14 Travieso 39 0-5 0-0 4-6 1 1 0 E Padilla 40 2-6 4-4 0-2 1 2 8 Norville 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Weeks 20 2-9 0-0 5-7 0 4 4 Nunez 5 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 17-55 16-19 21-41 5 16 50 _______________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.309, FT-.842. 3-Point Goals: 0-7, .000 (Bright 0-3, Travieso 0-3, E Padilla 0-1). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 6 (Camby 4, Travieso 2). Turnovers: 16 (Dingle 4, E Padilla 4, Camby 3, Bright, Norville, Nunez, Travieso, Weeks). Steals: 7 (Dingle 2, E Padilla 2, Travieso 2, Weeks). MARYLAND (47) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Hipp 38 2-7 0-0 1-5 0 4 4 Booth 34 4-6 3-4 3-4 2 4 11 Lucas 31 1-5 2-4 0-3 1 0 5 Simpkins 23 1-4 2-2 0-2 3 4 4 Rhodes 35 3-8 1-3 0-3 3 2 7 Elliot 12 1-3 2-4 1-2 0 2 4 Stokes 14 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 Ekezie 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2 Jasikevicius 7 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 8 Kovarik 2 0-0 2-2 0-1 0 0 2 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 16-39 12-19 5-20 10 19 47 _______________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.410, FT-.632. 3-Point Goals: 3-11, .273 (Hipp 0-2, Lucas 1-2, Simpkins 0-1, Rhodes 0-2, Elliot 0-1, Stokes 0-1, Jasikevicius 2-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 3 (Booth 2, Rhodes). Turnovers: 17 (Lucas 5, Booth 3, Hipp 2, Jasikevicius 2, Simpkins 2, Ekezie, Rhodes, Stokes). Steals: 10 (Booth 5, Rhodes 4, Simpkins). __________________________________ Massachusetts 19 31 - 50 Maryland 28 19 - 47 __________________________________ Technical fouls: Massachusetts 1 (Head Coach Calipari). A: 16,302. Officials: Dick Paparo, Carl Hess, Mike Wood.