AUI - From March of 1993 until the end of last year, the University of Massachusetts had lost only 15 games. Every single one had been followed by a win.
Cal's Tony Gonzalez is sandwiched by Tyrone Weeks and Lari Ketner. |
"Those first two games (a victory over Chaminade and a loss to Virginia) we struggled because of a lack of effort," said Carmelo Travieso, who led UMass with 19 points. "Today we had the old UMass intensity."
"I told my guys that I want them to get better every day," said head coach Bruiser Flint. "I didn't think we got better yesterday against Virginia. But I thought we got better today."
California was led by Ed Gray, who capped a brilliant tournament with 24 points. The Golden Bears hurt UMass with their big players on the boards, outrebounding UMass, 47-36, and fouling Lari Ketner out of the game after just 16 minutes.
The Minutemen got the 19 from Travieso, 14 from Tyrone Weeks and 10 important points from Winston Smith. The freshman forward had the best showing of any UMass newcomer in the tournament, galvanizing the Minutemen in the first half after a sluggish start.
Fifteen turnovers cost the Minutemen in the end. |
Edgar Padilla steamed downcourt, lost his footing, but shoveled a pass out to Travieso in the right corner. Travieso, thinking the game clock was about to tick down, fired up an off-balance 3-pointer that barely caught the rim. McGruder grabbed the rebound, got fouled and sank both free throws to seal the win.
UMass is now 1-2, owners of a losing record for the first time since starting off the 1992-93 season 0-1. The 17th-ranked Minutemen will now likely fall out of the AP rankings for the first time in years.
Still, Flint felt confident that he had seen some seeds of better times in the defeat.
"We didn't shoot well (38.5 percent), but if we keep playing defense like that, we will win some games," he said. "I saw some signs."
California Golden Bears | 59 |
Massachusetts Minutemen (#17) | 55 |
The Maui Invitational, 3rd-place game at the Lahaina Civic Center, Maui HI |
CALIFORNIA (59) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Gray 35 9-19 5-6 1-3 1 3 24 Marks 29 3-10 0-0 5-9 0 1 6 Stewart 26 2-6 3-5 2-7 0 3 7 Duck 32 3-6 1-2 0-1 0 0 8 Mcgruder 26 1-2 6-10 2-9 7 0 8 Jones 12 1-6 1-3 4-8 1 2 3 Mcqueen 24 1-5 0-0 2-2 2 1 2 Jackson 3 0-1 0-2 0-0 0 1 0 Gonzalez 13 0-1 1-2 2-3 0 0 1 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 20-56 17-30 18-42 11 11 59 _______________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.357, FT-.567. 3-Point Goals: 2-13, .154 (Gray 1-3, Marks 0-2, Duck 1-3, Mcgruder 0-1, Mcqueen 0-3, Jackson 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 7 (Stewart 4, Marks 2, Jones). Turnovers: 16 (Stewart 4, Gray 3, Mcgruder 3, Jones 2, Duck, Gonzalez, Marks, Mcqueen). Steals: 7 (Marks 3, Duck 2, Mcgruder, Mcqueen). MASSACHUSETTS (55) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Smith 29 5-12 0-0 5-7 1 3 10 Weeks 38 6-16 2-3 5-9 1 3 14 Norville 24 0-2 0-0 1-6 0 4 0 Padilla 39 3-15 0-0 1-2 5 2 6 Travieso 39 8-17 0-0 0-4 4 3 19 Clarke 2 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Ketner 16 2-2 0-2 1-4 0 5 4 Babul 11 1-1 0-1 2-3 1 0 2 Basit 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 25-65 2-6 16-36 12 21 55 _______________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.385, FT-.333. 3-Point Goals: 3-16, .188 (Padilla 0-9, Travieso 3-7). Team rebounds: None. Blocked shots: 8 (Norville 3, Weeks, Padilla, Travieso, Ketner, Babul). Turnovers: 15 (Ketner 3, Norville 2, Padilla 2, Smith 2, Travieso 2, Weeks 2, Basit, Clarke). Steals: 11 (Padilla 4, Travieso 4, Weeks 2, Smith). __________________________________ California 31 28 - 59 Massachusetts 28 27 - 55 __________________________________ Technical fouls: None. A: 2,500. Officials: Tom Rucker, Donnie Gray, John Cahill.