C O L L E G E _ B A S K E T B A L L
Kansas, Virginia
reach Maui title game
The Jayhawks score the final 17 points
to subdue Cal; UMass was no match
for the red-hot Cavs
By Mike Fitzgerald
Star-Bulletin
LAHAINA, Maui - This was nitro hoops, dragsters in baggy gym shorts, racing up and down the court at Indy car speed.
Cal-Berkeley went berserkley for 36 minutes in the nightcap of the Maui Invitational semifinals yesterday.
The underrated Golden Bears matched mighty Kansas basket for frantic basket in front of a frenzied crowd that nearly lifted the Lahaina Civic Center gym into orbit.
The second-ranked Jayhawks finally turned into vultures to close out the game on a wicked 17-0 run and win going away, 85-67.
But Cal had already showed that it can play Jumping Jack Flash basketball with anyone in the nation.
"I think we are capable of doing those things," Kansas coach Roy Williams said of the 17-0 door-slammer, which was preceded by an 18-0 run that opened the Jayhawks' mugging of LSU on Monday. "We are an experienced team and we got some help from our bench tonight."
Kansas led, 37-34, after a head-busting first half for both teams. The lead changed hands faster than a magician after the final 20 minutes tipped off.
It was Cal by a deuce, 58-56, with 10:55 remaining and the Bears were only down by one, 68-67, with 4:09 left when Kansas went wild until the final buzzer.
"I believe that fatigue really set in for us when they made their late run," said first-year Cal coach Ben Braun. "You can talk about playing through fatigue, but that's easier said than done."
The Jayhawks (2-0) will play Virginia (2-0) in the championship game today at 5:30 p.m., while Cal (1-1) takes on Massachusetts (1-1) for third place at 2:30 p.m.
Cal guard Ed Gray led all scorers with 32 points and seven rebounds. Still, he was scowling afterward.
"My general performance was good, but we got a loss so all that's out the window," said the 6-3, 210-pound senior. "I'd rather have five points and a win than 30 points and a loss."
Kansas had four players in double figures: Raef LaFrentz (18), Scot Pollard (18), Paul Pierce (17) and Jerod Haase (13), who is a transfer from Cal.
Williams said he is wary of Virginia.
"Their backcourt is as good as any in the country and we've got our hands full with a very, very, very hot basketball team."
Virginia 75, Massachusetts 68
The final score is misleading as the Cavaliers made their second strong showing in two days.
Virginia led, 34-22, at the half and had the game in the bag with a 73-59 advantage with 24 seconds left in the game.
Courtney Alexander and Norman Nolan scored 20 points each for the Cavs, who stayed hot from the floor with a 49-percent shooting night.
First-year UMass coach James "Bruiser" Flint got tossed late in the second half with a second technical foul, for which he apologized after the game.
Tyrone Weeks led the 17th-ranked Minutemen with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
"We didn't think it was going to be a finesse game or a pretty game," said Virginia coach Jeff Jones. "We told our guys it was going to be more about toughness."
LSU 70, Iowa 60
The Hawk-eyes, who were missing three starters due to illness and injury, led 35-28 at the half, but it was all downhill from there.
LSU (2-1) bounced back from a pounding by Kansas and held Iowa to 22-percent shooting (7-of-33) in the second half.
LSU will take on South Carolina at 11 a.m. today for fifth place.
Iowa, which came into the tourney ranked No. 25 in the nation, plays Chaminade for seventh place in a 9 a.m. game today.
South Carolina 64, Chaminade 55
The Silverswords played another excellent game in yesterday's tournament eye-opener, but still fell to 0-2 under new head coach Al Walker.
Darnell Clavon and Roman Rivera led the 'Swords with 18 points each.
The Gamecocks (1-1) were ahead by three, 31-28, at the half.
Summaries
Kansas 85, California 67
California: Gray 12-24 5-7 32, Marks 6-8 1-2 13, Stewart 4-8 2-4 10, Duck 0-6 0-0 0, McGruder 1-5 2-2 4, Jones 1-1 3-4 5, McQueen 1-1 0-0 2, Gonzalez 0-1 1-4 1, Kahner 0-0 0-0 0, Labagh 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 14-23 67.
Kansas: Pierce 4-11 9-10 17, LaFrentz 8-20 2-2 18, Pollard 7-8 4-4 18, Robertson 2-7 0-0 6, Haase 4-6 5-5 13, Pugh 1-1 0-0 2, Thomas 3-5 0-1 9, Bradford 0-2 0-0 0, McGrath 0-1 0-0 0, Branstrom 0-0 0-0 0, Ransom 1-2 0-0 2, Nooner 0-0 0-0 0, B.J. Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-64 20-22 85.
Halftime-Kansas 37, California 34.
3-point goals-Cal 3-13 (Gray 3-7, McGruder 0-1, Jackson 0-1, Duck 0-4), Kansas 5-16 (Thomas 3-5, Robertson 2-7, LaFrentz 0-1, Pierce 0-2). Rebounds-Cal 20 (Gray 7), Kansas 44 (Pollard 12). Assists-Cal 8 (McGruder 4), Kansas 17 (Robertson 9). Total fouls-Cal 21, Kansas 17.
Virginia 75, UMass 68
Virginia: Nolan 10-16 0-4 20, Alexander 6-13 6-7 20, Metheney 0-0 0-0 0, Staples 4-11 1-2 11, Deane 3-5 6-10 13, McAndrew 0-0 0-3 0, Ducharme 3-5 0-0 6, Robinson 1-4 3-6 5, Dersch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 16-32 75.
Massachusetts: Smith 1-4 0-0 2, Weeks 9-17 4-4 22, Norville 0-6 0-0 0, Padilla 4-12 1-2 11, Travieso 6-19 0-0 16, Ketner 2-6 3-5 7, Babul 1-1 0-0 2, Clarke 4-9 0-0 8, Basit 0-1 0-0 0, Kirkland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-75 8-11 68.
Halftime-Virginia 34, Massachusetts 22.
3-point goals-UV 5-14 (Alexander 2-4, Staples 2-8, Deane 1-2), UM 6-24 (Travieso 4-13, Padilla 2-8, Clarke 0-3). Rebounds-UV 40 (Staples 8), UM 48 (Weeks 11). Assists-UV 15 (Staples 6), UM 16 (Padilla 6). Total fouls-UV 14, UM 24. Technicals-UM coach Flint 2. Ejection-UM coach Flint.
LSU 70, Iowa 60
Iowa: Koch 3-9 2-2 8, Moore 5-8 3-6 13, Rucker 6-14 0-0 12, Bauer 1-3 0-0 3, Woolridge 5-16 2-4 16, Helmers 0-1 1-1 1 Luehrsmann 2-4 0-2 6, Simmons 0-1 1-2 1, Robinson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 9-18 60.
Louisiana State: Le. Earl 3-7 3-3 9, Washington 1-5 0-0 2, Spencer 8-9 10-12 26, Nabors 1-2 0-0 2, Carter 1-4 2-2 4, Simmons 3-7 1-2 10, Bosley 1-6 2-2 5, Womack 1-7 0-1 2, Hall 3-3 2-2 8, Lo. Earl 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 23-51 20-24 70.
Halftime-Iowa 35, LSU 28.
3-point goals-Iowa 7-19 (Woolridge 4-11, Luehrsmann 2-2, Bauer 1-2, Rucker 0-1, Koch 0-3), LSU 4-15 (Simmons 3-7, Bosley 1-4, Nabors 0-1, Carter 0-1, Womack 0-2). Rebounds-Iowa 36 (Moore, Rucker 9), LSU 35 (Le. Earl 8). Assists-Iowa 16 (Woolridge 5), LSU 16 (Bosley 7). Total fouls-Iowa 19, LSU 14.
South Carolina 64, Chaminade 55
South Carolina: Stack 3-5 2-2 10, McKie 8-16 5-7 27, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, L. Davis 8-14 2-3 20, Watson 1-3 1-2 3, Wilbourne 1-3 0-0 2, Carlisle 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 22-46 10-14 64.
Chaminade: Cephas 5-17 0-0 11, Antonio 0-2 0-0 0, Umbarger 1-1 0-0 2, Farrell 1-4 0-0 3, Clavon 5-12 6-7 18, Rivera 7-9 0-0 18, M. Davis 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 20-47 6-7 55.
Halftime-South Carolina 31, Chaminade 28.
3-point goals-SC 10-22 (McKie 6-9, Stack 2-4, L. Davis 2-7, Watson 0-1, Carlisle 0-1). CU 9-28 (Rivera 4-6, Clavon 2-7, M. Davis 1-2, Farrell 1-4, Cephas 1-8, Antonio 0-1). Rebounds-SC 33 (McKie 7), CU 21 (Rivera 4). Assists-SC 11 (Watson 9), CU 10 (Cephas 4). Total fouls-SC 9, CU 16.