• Season: 1995-96
• Date: Saturday, March 23, 1996
• Opponent: Georgetown
• Start Time: ?
• Site: Georgia Dome, Atlanta GA
• Special Event: NCAA Tournament, East Regional Final (Elite Eight). Seeds: UMass 1, Georgetown 2.
• Television: CBS
• Radio: WHMP

• Result: UMass (#1) 86, Georgetown (#4) 62
• Attendance: 32,328

Iverson is flash point
Quick quiz for UMass guards: Can they stop Hoya sensation?
By Joe Burris, Boston Globe Staff, 3/23/1996

ATLANTA – By now, there's no doubting their talents. University of Massachusetts guards Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso have shown they are among the best tandems in college basketball this season, having outplayed a host of other backcourts said to be better skilled.

But on the eve of tonight's NCAA East Regional final against Georgetown, Travieso and Padilla fielded a host of questions from reporters wondering how they would handle their toughest challenge of the season – Allen Iverson.

Should the two shut down Georgetown's multifaceted guard and help propel the Minutemen to their first Final Four (the former probably would lead to the latter), they could be hailed as the most prolific backcourt in the game.

If Iverson leads Georgetown to victory, however, Travieso and Padilla could suffer a fate similar to that of teammate Marcus Camby, who was one of the best players in the game last season but was remembered for his poor showing against Oklahoma State's Bryant Reeves in the East final.

“Allen Iverson's a great player, a great scorer,” said Travieso yesterday, hours after UMass disposed of Arkansas, 79-63, in the semifinals. “I'm just going to try to make the game difficult for him the whole length of the court so he can't get his teammates involved in the half-court offense.

“I want to hopefully make him take as many shots as I can, with the hopes that he will miss.”

Much maligned in the offseason, UMass' guards have been successful because of their ability to stymie backcourts. They pick up their opponents the moment the ball crosses the half-court line, apply chest-to-chest pressure and often force the point guard to play with his back to the basket.

That makes it difficult for point guards to watch plays develop. Travieso and Padilla also keep guards from driving with hand-checking and excellent footwork.

It will be interesting to see if UMass' aggressive strategy works against Iverson, who will blow right by you if he gets a step. “The best way to defend him is try to keep him from catching the ball,” said Travieso. “You have to keep it away from him and make it hard for him when he gets it.

“You have to go in with the frame of mind of making it difficult for him. If not, he's capable of scoring 30, 40 points a game.”

How the game is officiated will play an important role in UMass' success against Iverson. Thursday night's 98-90 Georgetown victory over Texas Tech included an astronomical 59 fouls. Iverson shot 18 free throws.

“If it's called closely and we pressure the ball a lot, they will call the hand-checking,” said Travieso. “That's going to be a factor because we want to go up and get in their face and make the game hard. Iverson and guard Victor Page are quick, so if they call it close, we won't be able to make it difficult for them.”

“If they let fouls go a lot, we have to prepare for that and be physical,” said Padilla. “If not, we'll still have a good chance because of the way they play. They play too physical and they will be in trouble if officials call everything.”

NCAA Division 1 basketball committee member Jake Crouthamel said yesterday none of the officials in Thursday night's games will be used tonight.

UMass coach John Calipari said that at this stage in the tournament, officiating won't be a factor because the crews are experienced.

“As long as it's consistent, that's all coaches ask for,” he added. “Don't change during the game. If we're calling hand-checking, call it. Mud wrestling in the paint, call it. We'll figure it out as the game goes along.”

Georgetown coach John Thompson said his team has to be aware of how a game will be called and make the necessary adjustments. “When you get into the tournament, you have to get a quick read on the officiating,” he said. “We haven't been doing a good job of that and we've gotten away with it.”

Iverson, who said he's been eager to play UMass all season, “ever since they went through that run where no one could beat them,” added that most teams start a game playing him for the outside shot, and if he hits a few jumpers, they play him for the drive.

“They play me as tight as possible,” he said. “But my teammates do a good job of getting me the ball the second I'm open.”

UMass forward Dana Dingle – who often draws guard assignments – said he will likely begin playing Iverson for the shot. “I'd probably give him space to see if he can hit it from outside,” he said. “It's better for him to shoot over you rather than beating you off the dribble.”

In addition to Iverson, much of the load will fall on Page, a freshman who brought the ball upcourt several times against Texas Tech when the Hoyas struggled getting it to Iverson.

Thus far, only one guard has had a field day against UMass – Stanford's Brevin Knight (27 points, 9 assists) in the second round. Travieso and Padilla could not keep up with Knight, but they knew once he beat them on dribble penetration, his attempts would get swatted away by Camby. The same could hold true tonight.

“We have Marcus back there, so if he drives, Camby will make him think a little bit,” said Travieso.

Camby might have a beef with Hoyas' front
By Michael Vega, Boston Globe Staff, 3/23/1996

ATLANTA – Marcus Camby doesn't need to dissect a scouting report to know what No. 2 seed Georgetown will try to do to him when top-seeded Massachusetts faces the Hoyas in the NCAA East Regional final tonight at the Georgia Dome. Camby saw the havoc Georgetown's gargantuan frontcourt wreaked in its 98-90 semifinal victory over Texas Tech – a game in which 59 fouls were called – so he knows what to expect tonight.

Another war in the paint.

“They're going to try and get me out of position,” Camby said with a certain sense of resignation. “They're going to try and get me out of my game, and that's basically it.”

As brutal as the contact was in Georgetown's triumph over the athletic Red Raiders, tonight's game shapes up as even more physical, especially since Georgetown starts a menacing frontcourt that includes 6-foot-9-inch, 235-pound Othella Harrington; Jerome Williams, a 6-9, 206-pound senior who is regarded as the Hoyas' strongest rebounder, and Boubacar Aw, a 6-8, 222-pound sophomore forward who is regarded as their strongest defender. Off the bench, the Hoyas bring Ya-Ya Dia, a 6-10, 225-pound center, and Jahidi White, a mammouth 6-9, 270-pounder who, Williams said, “is the largest human being to ever wear any uniform – including professional wrestling.”

UMass will return frontcourt fire with Camby, 6-7, 220-pound senior forward Dana Dingle and 6-6, 223-pound senior forward Donta Bright. They will likely get bench support from Tyrone Weeks (6-7, 260) and Inus Norville (6-8, 225).

But if the game becomes a frontcourt fistfight, Georgetown might have the advantage with its sheer size and strength.

“You don't know if it's going to be a physical game,” said UMass coach John Calipari. “But when the game starts, we'll know. The officials right now are reading everything you're writing. I read that somebody wrote that yesterday's game was a street fight. There were so many fouls called because that's the way the game was called and that's the way it was officiated. So if it's called that way, it's not going to be as physical as you think, or else we're both going to foul out our entire teams.

“But I think Marcus Camby against Othella is going to be a great matchup. I think Donta Bright will be against Aw and I think Tyrone Weeks will guard White when he comes in and I think Dana Dingle will guard Jerome Williams when he comes in.”

Does Georgetown need to engage Camby in a mano-a-mano duel to succeed against UMass? Harrington doesn't think so.

“We've been labeled as a physical team, but I don't think you need to be physical with him,” he said. “Being physical with him is not going to accomplish anything. You'll just get five fouls.”

But it could serve to wear down the slight Camby, who has struggled in past duels against physical big men. Remember George Washington's Alexander Koul? How about Oklahoma State's Bryant (Big Country) Reeves? Koul helped to ruin UMass' bid for a perfect season and Reeves posed a big roadblock for Camby and the Minutemen when they reached the threshold of the Final Four, only to get eliminated by Oklahoma State in the East final a year ago.

“In my career, I've faced a lot of big guys, but I learned a lot from that Oklahoma State game,” Camby said. “I knew that I had to get physically and mentally ready to go to the next level if I were ever to make it. But that game changed a lot for me. I came back with more fire this year and I think it shows.”

Calipari has kept Camby's competitive fires from fizzling out by sneaking in an extra minute or two of rest for his star player by pulling him before each TV timeout.

Clever little tricks like those – “With all the TV timeouts, I'm at a loss for words, they're so long,” Calipari quipped – have enabled Camby to remain fresh as UMass begins its stretch drive to the Final Four. But Calipari insists fatigue will not be a factor with his team.

“You're only tired if you have mono, that's it. You're only hurt if the bone is sticking through the skin, that's it,” Calipari said. “You're running on adrenaline here. We've all had long seasons, but we're all excited about playing basketball now, and you don't get tired.”

That might be easy for Calipari to say. He will not have to bang bodies with Messrs. Harrington, Williams, Aw, Dia and White. Camby will have that unenviable task. From the looks of it, Camby might encounter some hostile – if not cramped – working conditions in Georgetown's frontcourt.

“I'm not going to back down and let the game come to me; I'm still going to take my shots,” Camby said. “Hopefully, I won't be in foul trouble and I'll still be out on the floor and be able to help my team win.”

One man's core belief: Minutemen will prevail
By Bob Ryan, Boston Globe Staff, 3/23/1996

ATLANTA – John Calipari says nobody is picking the University of Massachusetts tonight. That happens to be a factual untruth.

I am.

Why not? UMass has the best core unit in the country. Do they have the best 12 players? No. Kentucky does. Do they even have as many good players as Georgetown? No again. I certainly like John Thompson's seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th players better than John Calipari's. (The 12th and 13th, I'm not sure about.)

But guess what. Barring some major rule change in the next several hours, neither Kentucky nor Georgetown nor the Connecticut women will be able to employ more than five players at a time. Five is all you need. Five has served the UMass needs quite well in 34 of their first 35 games, and there is no reason not to assume it won't do so again.

Coach Cal keeps saying that whenever the season ends, it will be a sad day because this is such an enjoyable team for him to be around. I will take this a step further and say that whenever the UMass season ends, it will be a sad day for me as a basketball lover because this is such an enjoyable team to watch.

I can guarantee you that UMass is the 1995-96 Coaches' Team of Choice. Oh, sure, they'd all like to have Kentucky's trainload of raw talent and they'd all like to have Allen Iverson's virtuoso ability at their disposal, but if there is one team which restores their belief that five men playing with a common purpose can make this game into an art form, that team is the University of Massachusetts, and no one else.

UMass is the kind of team coaches understand and players don't. I have no doubt that teams UMass has just beaten often walk away convinced that justice has not been served. They are often stronger or quicker and they can often do more things which show up in the highlight film. They just don't know how to do the things which win basketball games. UMass does.

And while this game tonight is a big game, with special ramifications, it certainly is not the first certified Big Game UMass has played. In the last three years alone, UMass has played and beaten North Carolina, Arkansas and Kentucky. UMass played and lost to Kansas. UMass will go anywhere, at any time, to play anybody. For kids like Marcus Camby, Donta Bright, Dana Dingle, Edgar Padilla, Carmelo Travieso and Tyrone Weeks, it is the only way of athletic life they've known since setting foot on campus.

Georgetown will be much stronger physically than UMass and Georgetown will be every bit as quick in the backcourt. UMass will need some understanding from the officials, because Georgetown can afford to play a game of personnel attrition with regard to personal fouls, and UMass can't. If the Hoyas are going to start whacking Camby around in the post, those whistles will have to blow. And he'll be well advised to make good on his free throw opportunities.

Georgetown's full-court press causes problems for most people, but it's nothing UMass shouldn't be able to handle. One of the great UMass strengths is that everyone in its starting five can handle the ball, and that includes Camby, the 7-footer with the 2-guard mentality. Another of UMass' great strengths is its ability to finish plays. When UMass beats a press, UMass attacks the basket, and UMass is replete with finishers.

The following premise is nonnegotiable: UMass is the best half-court defensive team in America. The Minutemen can exert guard pressure, without which no team can play quality half-court defense, at any level. The forwards are experienced and smart, and Dingle may be the best individual defender at the forward spot in the country. And behind them awaits the Great Eraser. If there is a team which is unlikely to let the mercurial Mr. Iverson mess with its mind, it is UMass.

The following premise is arguable, but sustainable: UMass is the best half-court offensive team in America. Camby is the most versatile big man in college basketball. He posts when it's advisable, he faces up when that seems to be a better course of action, he is dangerous on the glass and he can pass. Double-teaming him is an invitation to embarrassment, because the forwards, especially, will burn anyone who ignores them, and Camby won't hesitate to deliver the mail.

Bright and Dingle are both exceptional baseline slashers, and Bright can get hot with a midrange jumper. Ignore Dingle at your peril. His jump shot is improving, and he is a nuisance on the offensive boards. Most teams who win championships do so because somewhere in the mix lurks an intelligent, selfless and resourceful veteran player who goes about his business quietly. Dana Dingle may be setting the standard for future generations in this regard.

The backcourt, meanwhile, is one of the great stories in college basketball. The idea that this was not too long ago regarded as a UMass weak spot is now unimaginable. Padilla and Travieso are both old-fashioned well-rounded guards, and they have become downright symbiotic, at both ends.

Throw in the increasingly valuable contributions of Weeks, who has much more finesse to his game than his body would suggest, and UMass has a solid six to stack up with anyone.

All you need to know about what separates UMass from just about every other college team could be seen during the final three possessions of the Stanford game. Needing baskets in the worst way, UMass scored three times in succession, with Dingle and Bright coming off picks to nail foul-line jumpers and Camby taking a beautiful drop-down pass from Bright for a key layup. It was NBA-level execution in the clutch.

Georgetown is a very formidable and admirable opponent, but I fail to comprehend this recent rush to canonize the Hoyas. Is this not the same team which lost to Providence late in the year? Is this not the same team which was twice life and death with Boston College? Is this not the same team which threw away the UConn game in the Big East tourney?

Hey, Iverson could get 45. Hey, UMass might shoot 29 percent. Hey, the zebras might foul out Camby in 20 minutes. And we might have an earthquake here, too. Assuming none of these things happens, I see Your Beloved State U heading to the Meadowlands next weekend.

Special visit for Roy, Gilpatrick
By Joe Burris, Boston Globe Staff, 3/23/1996

ATLANTA – The University of Massachusetts basketball team visited paralyzed hockey players Travis Roy of Boston University and John Gilpatrick of Suffolk University at the Shepherd Spinal Center yesterday. The Minutemen spent about 15 minutes with each and gave each an autographed basketball.

“Both of them really enjoyed it; they were happy to see us,” said UMass manager Brian Gorman. “Gilpatrick is a big UMass fan, but Roy said he just wanted to see the guy who fell off the platform.”

Gorman was referring to shooting guard Carmelo Travieso, who fell off the dais before a press conference Wednesday.

What the Hoya? UMass whips Georgetown 86-62
From The Associated Press, 3/23/1996

ATLANTA – Considering how impressive and dominating Massachusetts' 86-62 victory over Georgetown was Saturday, the top-ranked Minutemen have earned a right to take a bow.

They don't see it that way.

The Minutemen didn't even bother to cut down the nets. They simply donned Final Four T-shirts, waved to the crowd and trotted off the Georgia Dome court.

Seems these guys figure there are bigger and better nets to cut. Say, those hanging in the Meadowlands Arena, site of next weekend's Final Four.

“This team expects more and wants more,” coach John Calipari said. “Sure, we'll celebrate some tonight, but we want everyone to know this is just one step toward the final goal.”

UMass appears unwilling to accept anything less than a national title this year. Those East Regional nets will be traveling to Amherst, Mass., after all. Soon after the players retired to the locker room, the cheerleaders grabbed the ladders and cut the nets, which undoubtedly will take a place in the school archives.

The Minutemen advanced to their first-ever Final Four thanks to the extraordinary virtuoso performance by Carmelo Travieso. The senior guard shut down Allen Iverson, one of the quickest players in the country, for most of the game and loosened up the inside with six 3-pointers and 20 points.

All-America center Marcus Camby took care of the rest. Camby scored eight of his 22 points during a 15-2 run to open the second half as the Minutemen put away Georgetown.

“You saw UMass basketball today,” Calipari said. “Great defense, diving on the floor for loose balls, unselfish play, playing with emotion and passion and rebounding the heck out of the basketball.”

Iverson scored 23 points for Georgetown (29-8) but was ineffective with the exception of a five-minute streak at the end of the first half that accounted for 11 of his points. Iverson finished six of 21 from the field, but four of his strikes were from 3-point land.

“I was putting up all that looked like good shots,” Iverson said. “Unfortunately, they just weren't falling down for me like they were in the second half. I think they just did a good defensive job.”

Georgetown – attempting to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1985 – closed the first half on a 11-3 run to pull within 38-34 at the break, but the Minutemen blew the game open over the first 5:33 of the second half.

Camby opened the scoring with a tip-in and added a jumper and layup to make it 44-34. Donta Bright converted a three-point play before Jahidi White scored Georgetown's first point of the half with a free throw at the 17:47 mark to make it 47-35.

Camby countered with a layup, and Harrington made one of two from the line for the Hoyas. Travieso nailed a 3-pointer before Dana Dingle capped the burst with one of two free throws to make it 53-36 with 14:27 to play.

“Last year we were in the same situation and came out kind of flat, so I took it upon myself to make things happen,” Camby said, referring to last year's loss in the regional finals to Oklahoma State. “I had a tip-in, got myself into a rhythm and I started knocking sown shots.”

Iverson, meanwhile, was having a terrible time against Travieso, who showed no ill effects from a sore back suffered when he fell from a podium at a Wednesday news conference.

Iverson, who came in as the tournament's leading scorer at 29.1 points a game, missed his first seven shots of the second half before finally hitting a 3-pointer with 8:46 left in the game after Travieso went to the bench for a brief rest.

“I just tried to make the game real hard for him,” Travieso said. “I take pride in my defense.

“I tried to play him honest. I didn't try to go for steals and I wanted to contest every shot. Sometimes I would take chances, but not the whole game, because he's so quick.”

Daymond Jackson ended Georgetown's drought from the field with a layup at the 14:15 mark, cutting the deficit to 53-38.

Georgetown came as close as 64-51 on a layup by Harrington, but the Minutemen scored the next seven points as Dingle made a foul shot and Travieso made two free throws and a 3-pointer before Dingle capped the burst with a free throw to open a 71-51 cushion with 6:19 remaining.

Camby, shuffling in and out of the lineup after he picked up his fourth foul with 12:34 left in the game, managed to avoid another infraction and punctuated the rout with a thunderous dunk with three minutes to go.

“They're physically stronger than I thought,” Georgetown coach John Thompson said. “They kept us on the perimeter more than I thought. We couldn't penetrate as much and get inside where we'd like to be.”

Georgetown had no one to step up when Iverson went cold. Othella Harrington, who scored 23 points in a regional semifinal victory over Texas Tech, was held to 13. Except for Jerome Williams, who had 9 points, no other Hoya scored more than six.

“I gave it all I had and left everything I had on the court, and that's all I can ask for,” Iverson said. “I take my hat off to them.”

UMass, on the other hand, showed off all of its weapons Saturday in handing Georgetown its worst defeat of the year. Among the other starters, Donta Bright had 17 points, Dana Dingle 10 and Edgar Padilla 8.

“We always talk about how we want to play our best basketball in March,” Calipari said, “and right now we're playing as well as we've played all year.

All-Region Team¹⁾
Marcus Camby (MOP), UM
Donta Bright, UM
Carmelo Travieso, UM
Allen Iverson, GU
Jason Sasser, TTU

The Final Soar
UMass climbs last rung to Final 4, pounds Georgetown
By Joe Burris, Boston Globe Staff, 3/24/1996

ATLANTA – Is it too soon to speculate, too early to envision them cutting down the nets used for the final college basketball game of the season? Shall we wait a while longer – say, 80 minutes or so – before pegging them a team destined to break barriers and foil naysayers and send every adversary home wondering what could have been?

Yesterday, after beating its ninth ranked team and giving New England its first entry into the Final Four since 1987, there shouldn't be much doubting the No. 1-ranked University of Massachusetts. The Minutemen staged their clawing, scrapping, Refuse to Lose brand of ball and earned the right to make New Jersey a tourist haven next weekend.

Top seed in the NCAA East Regional, the Minutemen broke down one of the final two barriers in their season in convincing fashion, outplaying second-seeded Georgetown at both ends of the floor, jumping out to a 20-point lead late in the second half and cruising to an 86-62 victory. It will be their first trip to the Final Four.

The Minutemen (35-1) led throughout much of the game, outscored Georgetown, 15-2, at the start of the second half for a 52-36 lead, then withstood the Hoyas' pressure over the last 10 minutes. UMass, which lost in the East Regional final last season, became the first Atlantic 10 school to advance to the Final Four, and the first New England team since the Rick Pitino-coached Providence team in 1987 – which also beat Georgetown in the regional final.

“When I first arrived, I dreamed about this when I'd be running or jogging or when I had free time. You dream about the situation we're in,” said UMass coach John Calipari, whose team held Georgetown to 35-percent shooting from the floor and forced 22 turnovers.

“I'd dream about playing North Carolina or Duke in the championship game, played the game all out in my mind, and I'd smile and wake up and say, 'Oh geez, we're getting ready to play Lowell.' I had the vision and I wasn't sure it would ever come true.

“But one of the things I tell these guys all the time is that you have to be able to dream and have a visual picture and don't be afraid to be special. I think these guys have played hard all season and this is the reward.”

The Minutemen will play Pitino's Kentucky squad, an 83-63 winner over Wake Forest in the Midwest Regional final, in the national semifinal Saturday at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. UMass beat Kentucky, 92-82, in the season opener for both teams at the Great Eight tournament Nov. 28 in Auburn Hills, Mich.

“We're looking forward to it, we know we can beat them because we've done that already,” said UMass guard Carmelo Travieso (20 points), who did an exceptional job in containing Georgetown guard Allen Iverson (23 points on 6-of-21 shooting from the floor).

“We know Kentucky's a great team and we respect every single aspect of their game and their players. But we have a lot of confidence and desire. We're going to play as hard as we did yesterday, and the best team is going to win.”

Yesterday, UMass led by as many as 14 in the first half but Georgetown (29-8) closed strong and cut the lead to 38-34 at halftime. But at the start of the second half, UMass staged the kind of surge that has typified its postseason. The Minutemen scored the first 9 points of the second half to go ahead, 47-34, with 18:03 left.

Marcus Camby, who had an average first half, scored 8 of the Minutemen's first 11 points of the second half. He finished with a team-high 22 points and was named East Regional most outstanding player.

Georgetown cut the lead to 49-38 on single free throws by Jahidi White and Othella Harrington, but UMass withstood Georgetown's stiff pressure and got a 3-point basket from Travieso to go ahead, 52-36, with 15:15 left in the game. A free throw by Dana Dingle with 14:27 left gave UMass a 53-36 lead, ending a 15-2 run to start the half.

“UMass was physically stronger than I thought they were,” said Georgetown coach John Thompson. “They kept us on the perimeter more than I thought they would. We couldn't penetrate as much and get inside where we'd like to be.”

Camby scored on a 3-point play with 10:31 left to give the Minutemen a 60-43 lead. Georgetown cut the lead to 63-49 on a trey by Iverson. The Minutemen, however, got a free throw apiece from Dingle and guard Charlton Clarke to go ahead, 65-51, with 7:40 remaining.

With 6:50 left, UMass beat Georgetown's press and finished with a trey by Travieso to go ahead, 70-51. Dingle sank a free throw with 6:20 left to put the Minutemen ahead, 71-51. The celebration began shortly afterward.

But Calipari said he's uncertain whether the respect for his team has arrived. “I would hope so, but I don't know,” he said. “Some people might still look at it and still say it's a fluke, but that's OK. We will just go out and try to get it in the next game.”

A blueprint leads to one red-letter day
By Bob Ryan, Boston Globe Staff, 3/24/1996

ATLANTA – John Calipari was just settling into the seldom-experienced Enjoyment Phase. The final score would be a formality. His team was out there treating befuddled Georgetown like one more Fordham or St. Bonaventure when the sound came drifting down from the UMass section, located somewhere over his left shoulder.

“We Want The Wildcats! We Want The Wildcats!” The delirious UMass fans were getting ready for Kentucky.

Coach Cal leaped up, the way he does when one of his players fails to dig in deeply enough on defense or when a referee calls a foul on a perfect Marcus Camby block. He was waving his hands. No, no, no, no, no, no NO! This is not what he wanted to hear.

“I just don't like that,” he explained when the magnificent UMass victory was tucked away. “That's not the way to do it. We don't have to encourage them. We just want to line up and play. I hate it when fans start in with the 'Overrated!' stuff. It's one of those quirks I have. One of about 30.”

John Calipari has it all mapped out. There is a way to play. There is a way to accept losing. There is also a way to handle winning, and he didn't want the slightest blemish on the greatest day in the history of UMass athletics, whether the source was his team or his fans.

UMass did unto Georgetown what it had done unto 34 previous opponents – only more so. UMass is stampeding to a Final Four date next weekend in the Meadowlands because, well, let the coach have the stage.

“What you saw today was UMass basketball,” Calipari declared. “We were great defensively. We were diving on the floor for loose balls. We had unselfish play. We played with emotion and with passion and we rebounded the heck out of the ball.”

Your State U came within a minute and 26 seconds of pulling off a wire-to-wire conquest of a Georgetown team most pundits had seen fit to elevate into some sort of quasi-Bulls status. The only Hoya leads in this basic UMass two-way clinic were 3-2, 5-4 and 11-10. Once Donta Bright gave UMass a 12-11 lead with a nice little jumper, the Hoyas were in the Minuteman rear-view mirror to stay.

Georgetown learned many things about UMass yesterday, not the least of which is that there is no finer half-court defensive team in the country. Sometimes a coach and a team need to have something explode in their faces before they can fully comprehend certain realities.

“UMass is an excellent team, offensively and defensively,” said a gracious John Thompson. “They are probably better defensively than I had thought – and I thought they were good.”

Coach Cal has spoken many times during this fairy tale season about how unimposing his team looks in the layup line compared to so many of its opponents. We are in an era of basketball players who look like football players, young tight ends in the making, such as Danny Fortson of Cincinnati and the massive Jahidi White of Georgetown. Calipari does have one of those sumo types in sixth man Tyrone Weeks, but his starting five looks like, well, a basketball team. His team has that lean and hungry look.

But looks, as we've been told, can be very deceiving.

“They are much physically stronger than I thought they'd be,” explained Big John. “They play much stronger than you'd think. We could not penetrate against them. Their defensive support from their back people was outstanding. They did a great job of closing out on defense and putting us in places where we didn't want to be.”

One place Calipari said he honestly wanted to be was up by 4 (38-34) at halftime. This happened to be the case even though his team had been ahead by as many as 14 (31-17) with 5:37 remaining in the half.

“I was sitting in the locker room going, 'Thank goodness we're only up by 4,' Calipari said, “because if we were up by 12 or 15, who knows how we'd play?”

The Georgetown players were operating under the apparently mistaken impression that their closing rush had somehow rattled the Minutemen. What they could not have appreciated was that UMass had been in a very similar situation a year ago against Oklahoma State, leading by 5 at halftime of the game that would determine who'd be going to the Final Four. In that game UMass came out and threw a stinkbomb onto the Meadowlands. There was absolutely no way this team would allow anything like that to happen again.

Led by East Regional Most Valuable Player Marcus Camby, UMass attacked and attacked and attacked some more, completely dominating the game at both ends. Camby took care of the offense, scoring 8 quick points, while Carmelo Travieso set the tone for the defense, hounding young legend Allen Iverson into 1-for-10 second-half shooting. In the second half UMass made the game of basketball look easy, which it is if you are able to combine talent, determination and maturity to the degree UMass does.

“That's the sign of a good team,” said Thompson, “how they react under fire. They are poised. They do not beat themselves. You've got to beat them.”

Performances such as this do not just materialize, as if by magic. They begin with recruiting people who can adapt to your way of doing things. They take shape with offseason conditioning drills and with behind-closed-doors practices in which important lessons are learned from simple drills. They are set up by rigorous challenges in games played against the very best opponents.

And if a coach is privileged enough to find the right core group, a group that is willing to make the necessary commitment to winning, and not to individual aggrandizement, he has the good fortune to someday sit on the bench and watch his vision take life. He gets to be John Calipari watching his team dismantle Georgetown. He gets to see his team take him to the Final Four, not with a half-court heave, but with a precision show of dazzling basketball expertise that proves to him his players have been listening all along.

“That was us,” he beamed. “That was the blueprint. That was UMass basketball.”

Class of a productive unit
UMass notebook
By Joe Burris, Boston Globe Staff, 3/24/1996

ATLANTA – One arrived as one of the most highly recruited players from the nation's premier high school team. The other came from a renowned high school but didn't have the big following.

By the time Donta Bright and Dana Dingle arrived at the University of Massachusetts four years ago, the basketball program already had been turned around; they were the first class of recruits who were the first fruits of the turnaround, and they were to help bring the program to the next level.

The two senior starters and co-captains entered last night's NCAA tournament East Regional final game against Georgetown hoping to extend their seasons and help propel UMass further than any team in school history. They helped do that, as UMass took an 86-62 win. But the two – along with reserves Ted Cottrell, Rigoberto Nunez and Giddel Padilla – already have had the most productive tenure of any Minutemen class.

They represent the second class of UMass players to go to the NCAA tournament in each of their four seasons. But this year's class has compiled the best four-year record (116-20) and has been to two regional finals.

Moreover, the two will end their seasons having reached a few milestones. Dingle set the UMass record for the most games played Thursday night. He played in his 135th career game, breaking Lou Roe's record.

Bright scored 11 points against Arkansas to become the ninth player in school history to score 500 in a season.

Dingle had 10 points last night, Bright 17.

MEN OF STEAL

UMass had 16 steals last night, including 11 in the second half. The steals were the second most ever in a regional final. Duke had 17 against St. John's in the 1991 Midwest Regional. Point guard Edgar Padilla led the way with five steals. Carmelo Travieso had four and Bright four . . . In addition to Most Outstanding Player honors, Marcus Camby was named to the East Regional all-tournament team, along with Iverson, Edgar Padilla, Travieso and Texas Tech's Jason Sasser . . . UMass' margin of victory in the tournament is 16.8 points . . . UMass has now won seven straight games against Big East opponents, with their last loss Jan. 30, 1990 vs. UConn . . . The Minutemen are now 5-0 against teams ranked in the top 10 in the national polls.

Camby's emotion put 'em in motion
By Michael Vega, Boston Globe Staff, 3/24/1996

ATLANTA – There was no way he was going to allow it to happen. Not again. And especially not after the top-seeded University of Massachusetts had worked so hard to reach the final of the NCAA East Regional for the second year in a row.

So, as he sat in the locker room at halftime after scoring just 9 points on a woeful 3-for-10 shooting performance, Marcus Camby did not brood. He simply decided he was not going to disappear from sight as he had in the second half of last year's setback against Oklahoma State in the East Regional final at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.

This time, he was going to rise up and take matters into his own hands.

That's precisely what Camby did in the second half, when he scored on his first four touches to lead UMass to an 86-62 triumph over No. 2 seed Georgetown last night at the Georgia Dome.

“That was a bad feeling that we had last year, because we thought we had the game when we were up at halftime,” said Camby, who was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player after he led the Minutemen with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. “Oklahoma State came out and played a terrific ballgame and we were never really able to catch up, and I just didn't want that to happen tonight.”

After his struggles in the first half, Camby came out and increased UMass' shaky 38-34 halftime lead to 10 when he scored the first three UMass baskets of the second half to make it 44-34 with 18:33 to go.

Camby began his mini-tear when he tipped in an offensive board. Then, after he blocked Georgetown's senior center Othella Harrington (13 points, 6 rebounds), Camby pulled up in the lane for a sweet jumper that made it 42-34. He backed Harrington in for a turnaround baseline jumper that increased UMass' lead to 10 and, after Donta Bright scored a foul-inducing hoop underneath, banked in a jumper off the glass to put the game out of reach, 49-35.

“I just try to get the team going,” said Camby, who had to curb his emotions somewhat when he picked up his fourth foul with 12:34 to go. “When they see me emotional, they get emotional and we just seem to take off from there.”

But when the Hoyas put on a tremendous run to whittle UMass' 31-17 lead to 4 points at intermission, Camby set the tone by keeping his composure.

“The thing about the damn kid is that he shows so very little emotion on the floor,” marveled Georgetown coach John Thompson. “He really hides within his personality, and yet he's very aggressive as a player. Defensively, he creates the problem of penetration, and that's why they can apply the kind of pressure they do.

“He can face, he can post and he passes, so that creates a problem also,” Thompson added. “He's got a great temperament and it's very similar to the temperament of their team. He just stays calm and does what he has to do. I just think he's a hell of a player. I tried to rationalize to myself by saying, 'Well, he's not really that good,' but he's good. He's a great player.”

When Camby accomplished his mission, and was summoned to the bench along with the rest of the starters, he showed his emotion by thrusting his arms in the air and exhorting the large contingent of UMass fans.

“The only thing I asked him to do was to play with more emotion and passion, block everything out on the outside,” said UMass coach John Calipari. “Obviously, he's the Player of the Year and we feed off of him, we feed off of his emotion, including the staff. That's his job. He knows that and he got it done.”

Pair needed a talking to
SporTView
By Jack Craig, Boston Globe Staff, 3/24/1996

There was a dramatic aura at the start of the UMass-Georgetown game last night that television loves. But that can lead to hyped-up announcers being too chatty.

So it was with Gus Johnson and Quinn Buckner, who never stopped talking, although it may not have been noticed by Channel 4 viewers as they focused on the neat pictures.

The broadcasters had done their homework, in spades. And they were not overly gentle. “That was a stupid foul,” Buckner said when Marcus Camby picked up a cheap foul just before the half.

Trouble is, while they knew a great deal about each team and about the pasts of the players, they didn't tell the audience enough about the present.

We never will know how many quick exits Camby took during the game. On a few occasions the announcers apparently didn't notice it until the audience did, when the camera isolated on Camby.

They also paid very little attention to Camby's fouls until he got his fourth and sat down with 13 minutes to play. His foul situation had played a role in dictating coach John Calipari's strategy. The announcers also did not mention team fouls until each had six.

When the announcers talk that much, the audience should at least be fully informed.

In broad terms, for Georgetown it was almost one (Allen Iverson) against five in the first half. As the analyst, Buckner should have addressed that because it probably surprised the entire college basketball world.

For neutral viewers, the game probably was looked upon after a while as just another one-sided Elite Eight telecast. Around here, if last night's game was really big, how large will next Saturday's be against Kentucky? For the Final Four, the first game will begin at 5:42 p.m., with the second starting 30 minutes after the end of the first, at about 8 p.m. CBS chooses the order today, but very likely, UMass-Kentucky will be shown in prime time.

They had Iverson's numbers
By Michael Vega, Boston Globe Staff, 3/24/1996

The numbers weren't going to lie. Carmelo Travieso and Edgar Padilla knew this much to be true. That was why, after the top-seeded University of Massachusetts scored an 86-62 triumph over No. 2 Georgetown in the final of the NCAA East Regional last night at the Georgia Dome, the first thing they did was to tally their defensive carnage against Georgetown's ballyhooed backcourt of Victor Page and Allen Iverson.

“You know what's great?” said UMass coach John Calipari. “They picked up the stats and they were looking at what their guy scored. Edgar came over to me and said, 'Check out No. 44 Page.' And I said he got 18, but he said, 'No, that's 18 minutes. He got a goose egg.' It's special to see that, because they're not looking at their own stats, they're looking at what they did to the other guy.”

Iverson, Georgetown's hyperquick sophomore, scored 23 points on 6-for-21 shooting and committed 5 turnovers, but was held to 6 points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half.

“Their guards did a good job,” he said. “They played a great all-around game. They shut us down defensively at times when we needed to score.”

Iverson missed his first six shots of the second half before drilling a 3-pointer with 8:47 to go.

“I just tried to play him honest,” Travieso said of Iverson. “I didn't try to go for the steal, I just tried to make him work hard.”

As the game wore on, that explained why Iverson became frustrated with UMass' fierce perimeter pressure.

“He was a little frustrated because he kept complaining to the refs about us playing him physical,” said Travieso, who had 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including six baskets from 3-point range, and had six assists and just one turnover in 37 minutes. “I just kept playing him the way he didn't want to be played, by chasing him. I got a lot of help from Edgar and the rest of the guys when he drove in, but I saw him kind of give up a little bit and I just picked up my level defensively.”

In the end, Travieso combined with Padilla to outscore Georgetown's backcourt, 28-23, on 7-for-28 shooting. The junior guards dished out a combined 10 assists, had 4 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

“I was talking to Carmelo before the game and we said we knew we had another challenge and if we were going to take advantage of this opportunity we were going to have to do it on defense,” Padilla said. “We didn't care if we didn't make shots or if we scored, we just had to stop them.”

“He locked down Iverson, but I think Carmelo took it personally when Iverson was talking about how nobody could take him one-on-one,” said center Marcus Camby. “But it's not one-on-one out here with us.

“It's one against five.”

FINAL FOUR BOUND!
Minutemen to face ‘Cats; just two wins away from National Championship
By Justin C. Smith, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, March 25, 1996

ATLANTA — For the first time in school history, the Massachusetts men's basketball team received a No. 1 seed into the NCAA Tournament. This implied the Minutemen were picked to be one of four teams likely to compete during the final weekend of the season for the National Championship.

John Calipari and crew fulfilled those expectations by winning four straight contests, earning the school’s first trip to the Final Four. The remaining games will be held this weekend at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J.

The berth, in perhaps the most prestigious college championship, is a dream come true for the 35-1 Minutemen's coach who was chosen yesterday as the Boost/Naismith National Coach of the Year.

“I dreamed about being in the situation we're in,” Calipari said when asked if he thought he would ever attain the Final Four when building this team. “I dreamed about playing North Carolina or Duke in the championship game. Then I would wake up and say, 'Oh geez, we're getting ready for UMass Lowell.’”

This is the first lime a team from the Atlantic 10 Conference will participate in the culmination of what is known as “March Madness.” (UMassHoops.com note: The Atlantic 10 was formed in 1976, but teams that joined the A-10 had previous history in the Final Four, including La Salle, Temple, and Saint Bonaventure.

The National Semifinals commence Saturday night at 5:42 p.m. against a familiar opponent to the Minutemen, second-ranked Kentucky. UMass took on the pre-season No. 1 Wildcats (32-2) in their season opener on Nov. 28 and scored a surprising 92-82 upset in the Great Eight Tournament.

The rematch comes almost exactly four months after the Minutemen victory. Unlike the previous meeting, the loser’s season ends while the winner will advance to the Championship game.

Kentucky enters the Final Four for the 11th time in school history. They emerged from the Midwest region where they were the No. 1 seeded team.

In the 1992 NCAA Tournament, the Minutemen found themselves pitted against Rick Pitino’s Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen, where UMass succumbed to Kentucky, 87-77.

Calipari is content to have his team enjoy their accomplishment of making it to the Final Four before preparing for the team’s ultimate goal, the National Championship.

“They are going to celebrate [the Georgetown win],” Calipari said. “But we want everyone to know this is one step towards our final goal.”

Senior co-captain Dana Dingle is looking to have his last season of basketball at UMass finish with the team on top of the college basketball world.

“This is the last go around for the seniors,” Dingle said. “We want to go out with a bang. We’re going to try and do all we can to get a National Championship. This is the best team I’ve been on in four years and we all play well together.”

Georgetown star Iverson stopped by UMass guards
By Candice Flemming, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, March 25, 1996

Most expected No. 1 Massachusetts to make it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. However, many didn’t expect the Minutemen to get by their likely East Regional Final opponent - Georgetown.

Before the Minutemen even played their Sweet Sixteen opponent (Arkansas, who they defeated 79-63), Georgetown was on the players’ minds.

“As for this bracket, no one pictures us to get out of here over Georgetown,” Marcus Camby said. “We need to go out and play UMass basketball.”

The two teams did meet in the East Regional Final at the Georgia Dome on Saturday, but the Minutemen proved all the so-called experts wrong with their relatively easy 86-62 victory over the Hoyas, advancing them to the first Final Four school and Atlantic 10 history.

The backcourt matchup was looked upon the same way as the game - Georgetown was favored.

The Hoyas’ talented tandem of All-American Allen Iverson and Big East All-Rookie team member Victor Page, also named Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament, was supposed to be too tough for UMass’ backcourt duo of Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso.

Although Padilla and Travieso had come up big against other top backcourts in the country such as Kentucky’s, Maryland’s, Georgia Tech’s and Stanford’s, they still weren’t getting any respect from Iverson before the game.

“I don’t feel anybody can play me one-on-one without handchecking me,” Iverson said. “That’s the type of person I am. I’m confident. We feel like we have the talent to get [to the Final Four]. As long as we play good, strong defense, we’ll be okay.”

Travieso and the Minutemen entered the game knowing how good the Hoya backcourt was, particularly Iverson.

“Allen’s going to take 25-30 shots. That’s what he’s going to do. He’s a scoring point guard, he creates off the dribble,” Calipari said.

“I know he’s a great player and a great scorer,” Travieso said. “I’m just going to try and make the game as difficult as possible for him. Make him play the whole length of the floor.”

And that’s just what Travieso did.

The 6-foot-2 inch guard frustrated Iverson into taking bad shot after bad shot as the sophomore ended up with just six second half points while also committing four turnovers - five for the game. As for Page, the freshman was never able to get it going, finishing with no points and four turnovers, his worst performance of the season.

Iverson did have a solid first half, scoring half of his team’s points (17) and helped the Hoyas back from a 14-point deficit to enter the half down just four. Two of his 17 points came in spectacular fashion after Iverson burned Travieso at the top of the key and drove in for the dunk.

A Travieso trey gave the Minutemen a 31-17 lead, but Iverson answered with two trifectas in the next minute to pull the Hoyas to within 10 with just under five minutes left in the half. Iverson would go on to score five more points in the half but wasn’t able to do anything in the stretch as Travieso and the rest of his mates turned on the defensive pressure in the second half.

“It wasn’t just me who stopped him today. [My teammates] helped me make it hard for him. I take pride in my defense, we all do,” Travieso said. “[I just tried to] play him honest, to try not to go for steals, contesting every shot, be aggressive, try not to take chances. He was a little frustrated. I kept playing him the way he didn’t want to play. I got a lot of help from Edgar and the rest of the team. I picked up my level of intensity and just kept attacking him.”

The two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year finished with a game-high 23 points but shot just 6-for-21 from the field and dished out only one assist to his five turnovers.

“Their guards did a good job. They played a great all-around game. They shut us down defensively at times when we needed to score,” Iverson said. “I was putting up good shots, but unfortunately they just weren’t falling down for me. I think I did a good defensive job. I know on my penetration other people were stepping up and contesting my shots. They had a good plan coming in.”

UMass defeats Hoyas, earns first Final Four berth
Minutemen thrash Arkansas, Camby named Tourney [Region] MOP
By Justin C. Smith, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, March 25, 1996

ATLANTA — Two wins to the title.

The Massachusetts men's basketball team justified their top seed in the East ten-fold by steam-rolling all opponents on the way to clinching a spot where they have never been before, the Final Four.

Saturday was supposed to be the humbling of the Minutemen against All-America selection Allen Iverson and the fourth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas. It turned out to be a typical day at the office as UMass whipped John Thompson’s squad 86-62. The win sets up a rematch of the season opener for the Minutemen, No. 2 Kentucky in the National Semifinals.

UMass' own All-American Marcus Camby, voted Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional, led the Minutemen with 22 points, but it was UMass dedication to defense that was the key factor in the game.

“What's great is our team walked in, picked up the stat sheet and you know what they were looking at,” UMass coach John Calipari said. “They were looking at what their guy scored and Edgar [Padilla] came over to me and said 'Check out No. 44' and I said ‘he got 18,' he said no that's 18 minutes he got a goose egg.'”

No. 44 was the Big East Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Hoya guard Victor Page, the man Padilla guarded all game. Page had been averaging 13 points per game, second on the team, before the UMass point guard held him scoreless.

The Minutemen led at the break 38-34, but came out of the locker room with a vengeance to start the second half. Camby had eight of UMass' 15 points before Hoya guard Daymond Jackson hit Georgetown’s first field goal nearly six minutes into the half, an off-balance jumper in the lane.

By that point the Minutemen lead had grown to 53-36 and would never fall below 13 the rest of the way.

The Hoyas never got on track after the half, as they shot only 26 percent in the final 20 minutes. That includes Iverson's 1-for-10 second half performance. Carmelo Travieso, who was matched up man-on-man with the super sophomore most of the game, shared the credit of containing Iverson with his teammates.

“What we were trying to do is to spread him out,” Calipari said. “He’s going to get his 20. He might get 35 but we can still win if we make it difficult on him because he has to take more and more and more shots. Coming off the screens we talked about really stepping out and double teaming him, which means our whole team is playing him.”

Travieso's offensive output was just as important a factor in the outcome, as the Minutemen shooting guard nearly matched Iverson's 23 points with 20 of his own, including six three-pointers. Both players joined Camby, Donta Bright and Texas Tech's Jason Sasser as All-East Region selections.

The first 7:20 of the contest saw the lead change six times, with three of them occurring before the Minutemen went on a 21-6 run to claim their largest lead in the first half. Georgetown then turned up its full court press, chipping away at the Minutemen lead until it was down to four before the first half buzzer.

UMass was able to collect itself during halftime and Thompson felt it was the Minutemen’s ability to stay composed that showed how tough a team they are to beat.

“Them holding us off at the end, on their run, is a sign of greatness,” Thompson said of the UMass run to start the second half. “We go at people. UMass is poised, they don’t panic, they spread out. You don’t rattle them, they don’t beat themselves, you’ve got to beat them.”

Massachusetts 79, Arkansas 63
UMass scored the opening 13 points of the game and never looked back as the Minutemen led wire to wire setting up the showdown with the Hoyas. The Minutemen defense was suffocating once again as Arkansas shot only 18.5 percent in the first half.

Tyrone Weeks made the most of his unexpected start in the Regional semifinals, notching a game high 16 points as the Minutemen easily dispatched of the upstart Razorbacks. Weeks got the start over Camby because UMass’ usual starting center was late arriving for the team bus due to the Atlanta rush hour traffic.

The Boost-Naismith National Player of the Year responded off of the bench with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field, plus grabbing seven rebounds and swatting away three Razorback shots.

Camby controls Harrington, stops Hoyas’ comeback hope
By Candice Flemming, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, March 25, 1996

ATLANTA — Already this season Massachusetts' Marcus Camby has gone up against some of the best centers in all of college basketball — Tim Duncan, Lorenzen Wright and Samaki Walker, just to name a few.

And in each matchup, the 6-foot-11-inch Hartford native has come out on top.

So when Massachusetts prepared to face Georgetown in the NCAA East Regional Final on Saturday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Camby prepared to face another excellent center — this time the Hoyas' Othella Harrington.

“He is a great low post player. I have a lot of respect for him,” Camby said before Saturday's matchup. “I have played against a lot of great players this year. Hopefully that will help me.”

Harrington took the same approach as Camby in preparing for the matchup.

“Marcus is a good player,” Harrington said. “I'm just going to approach this game like any other game.”

Harrington, a co-captain, came into the contest on a high after scoring 23 points (10-of-13 from the field, 3-of-4 from the free throw line), grabbing six boards and blocking two shots in 27 minutes against Texas Tech in the Hoyas 98-90 victory. The senior had struggled in Georgetown's second round victory over New Mexico with just five points and seven rebounds.

Camby was coming off of a so-so performance against Arkansas in which he scored 15 points and grabbed seven boards. He wasn't really needed against the Razorbacks but against the Hoyas he knew he would have to do more.

So just as the National Player of the Year has done in every other game in which the Minutemen were pitted against a top center, Camby stepped up — although it wasn't immediately.

The first half saw Camby finish with nine points, four boards, two blocks, an assist and a steal but he wasn't shooting particularly well (3-of-10 from the field). Harrington, on the other hand, was unable to continue his impressive play from the game before, finishing with just two points in the first stanza.

After the Hoyas had cut the Minutemen's 14-point lead to four at the half, Camby decided it was time for him to go to work, while Harrington did his best to try to help his team complete the comeback.

In the first two minutes of the half, Camby set the tone for the rest of the game. He tipped in a Donta Bright miss, scored on a drive in the paint and then sank an 11-foot jumper on the baseline to put UMass up by 10.

“Last year we were in the same position.” said Camby, referring to last year’s 68-54 loss to Oklahoma State in the 1995 East Region Championship game. “We came out kind of flat in the second half of that game and ended up losing. So, I took it upon myself to make something happen. The [Bright] tip-in got me into a rhythm and I started knocking down some shots.”

And in the process, Camby knocked down any Hoya chance for a comeback as Camby's own 6-0 run spurred a 15-2 Minuteman run that effectively put the game out of reach. Harrington came up with 11 second-half points and six second-half boards, but it was not enough as the Hoyas failed to get the UMass lead under 13 the rest of the way.

Just as Camby swatted away a Harrington shot to start off the second half, he had smacked away any Hoya chance for victory – all while playing the final 12 minutes of the game with four fouls.

“He can play with foul trouble because he’s a very smart young man,” Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. “He knows what he can and can’t do.”

“[Camby’s] good. The thing about this damn kid is he shows very little emotion. He hides it within his personality yet he’s aggressive as a player,” Georgetown coach John Thompson said. “He can face, he can post and he passes, so that creates a problem He has a great temperament which is similar to the team’s. He stays calm and he does what he has to do. I think he’s a hell of a player.”

Harrington had praise for Camby as well.

“His teammates did a good job of passing the ball around and he was able to get some easy baskets. He is a great player,” Harrington said.

• Full game recording
• Brief highlights from season banquet video
• Twitter thread on the game's 25th anniversary

Georgetown (62)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Aw              17   1-2   0-0   1-3  0  3    2
Williams        24   4-7   1-2   2-8  2  3    9
Harrington      30   4-9   5-8   2-6  2  1   13
Iverson         36  6-21  7-10   0-2  1  4   23
Page            18   0-5   0-0   0-3  1  4    0
White           16   0-1   2-4   1-3  0  0    2
Touomou         24   2-4   1-1   0-1  2  3    5
Dia             13   1-3   0-0   2-3  0  1    2
Nichols          3   0-2   0-1   0-1  0  1    0
Jackson         16   2-2   2-2   0-3  0  4    6
Owinje           1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Berry            1   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Reed             1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
_______________________________________________
Totals         200 20-57 18-28  8-33  8 24   62
_______________________________________________

Percentages: Fg-.351, Ft-.643. 3-Point Goals:
4-15, .267 (Williams 0-1, Iverson 4-9, Page 0-1,
Touomou 0-1, Nichols 0-2, Berry 0-1). Team
rebounds: 9. Blocked shots: 4 (Aw, Williams,
White, Dia). Turnovers: 22 (Harrington 5, Iverson
5, Page 4, Touomou 3, Williams 3, Jackson 2).
Steals: 8 (Touomou 3, Iverson 2, Williams 2,
Jackson).

Massachusetts (86)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Dingle          29   2-4  6-10   2-4  2  3   10
Bright          30  5-14   7-9   3-7  2  2   17
Camby           28  9-19   4-5   2-7  1  4   22
E Padilla       39   1-4   5-6   0-3  4  4    8
Travieso        37  6-14   2-2   0-1  6  3   20
Weeks           26   2-5   0-1   2-8  0  4    4
Clarke           2   0-0   1-2   0-0  0  0    1
Norville         4   0-1   0-0   0-2  0  1    0
Nunez            1   0-1   0-0   1-1  0  0    0
Cottrell         1   0-0   0-0   0-2  0  0    0
Maclay           1   0-0   0-0   0-0  1  0    0
G Padilla        1   1-2   0-0   0-0  1  1    2
Burns            1   1-1   0-0   0-0  1  0    2
_______________________________________________
Totals         200 27-65 25-35 10-35 18 22   86
_______________________________________________

Percentages: Fg-.415, Ft-.714. 3-Point Goals:
7-16, .438 (E Padilla 1-2, Travieso 6-13, G
Padilla 0-1). Team rebounds: 8. Blocked shots: 6
(Camby 3, Bright 2, Travieso). Turnovers: 16 (E
Padilla 5, Dingle 4, Weeks 4, Bright, Norville,
Travieso). Steals: 16 (E Padilla 5, Bright 4,
Travieso 4, Camby, Clarke, Dingle).
__________________________________
Georgetown         34   28  -   62
Massachusetts      38   48  -   86
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None.  A: 32,328. Officials:
John Clougherty, Scott Garibaldi, Charles Range.

Alternate style from Sports-Reference.com