ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602260101
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: AMHERST, MASS.
SOURCE: New York Daily News
GEORGE WASHINGTON uses a balanced attack to shock No.1 Massachusetts 86-76 in an Atlantic 10 basketball matchup.
Hey, nobody's perfect, not even UMass.
Winners of their first 26 games, the top-ranked Minutemen saw their dreams of a perfect regular season go poof Saturday as George Washington cruised to a surprisingly easy 86-76 victory before a stunned sellout crowd of 9,493 at the Mullins Center.
Interestingly, it was the second consecutive year the Colonials have won at Mullins when UMass was ranked No.1. But this time, UMass had star center Marcus Camby, who missed last year's game with an injured knee.
``GW beat our brains in,'' said John Calipari, UMass' coach. ``They beat us at all five positions, up and down the floor. We were beaten soundly by a better basketball team.''
Calipari was not around to view the end. He was ejected with 10:31 left in the first half after picking up a second technical foul.
Calipari's exit was just another lowlight in a frustrating day for the usually poised Minutemen (26-1 overall, 14-1 Atlantic 10), who shot 42.6 percent from the field and lacked the defensive intensity that has been their trademark.
``I think I got a clearer view of my team, watching the game on television from the locker room,'' Calipari said. ``I tell them all the time, the publicity and the notoriety are like poison if you swallow it. And, today, we swallowed it.''
The Colonials (18-5, 11-2), who have won 10 of their past 11 games - did wonders for their NCAA Tournament chances. Their dominating performance included shooting 50.9 percent against a team that had been holding its opponents to 38.2 percent, as forward Vaughn Jones led the way with 21 points.
Freshman forward J.J. Brade shot a perfect 7-for-7 and finished with 16 points, and 7-foot-1 center Alexander Koul scored 14 points, controlled play inside and set the tone by blocking two of Camby's first three shots.
George Washington has won its past five games against Top 10 teams and two in a row at the Mullins Center. No other visitor has won once.
``It's probably more amazing that we can't play that way against everybody,'' said Mike Jarvis, the Colonials' coach. ``If we could, we'd be undefeated.''
UMass did make a late run, cutting the lead to 73-64 with 2:36 to play before Kwame Evans stopped the threat by making a deep 3-pointer to help end the Minutemen's season-long stranglehold on the No.1 ranking. ``We've played awful the past two games,'' Camby said. ``We won at Rhode Island, but we still played awful.''
Camby, UMass' national player of the year candidate, included himself in that critique. The 6-11 junior scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but shot 8-for-21 from the field and never was able to dominate the bigger Koul offensively. In the last two games, he has shot 15-for-41 (37 percent).
``I'm in a little slump,'' Camby said. ``I just need a couple days to get myself together.''
If there's a bright side for UMass, the loss may take some of the pressure off. ``Everywhere we went, people were talking about UMass being No.1 and all that history,'' guard Carmelo Travieso said. ``We were getting sick and tired of that. Now, that's all out the window and we don't have to hear about that anymore.''
As the last unbeaten team in Division I, UMass lost its chance to become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976. Since 1979, only UNLV in 1991 has made it as far as the NCAA Tournament without a loss.
``We have a saying about UMass basketball. `If you lose, you're going to the electric chair,''' Calipari said. ``Well, guess what, we didn't have the fire or the emotional passion.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. George Washington's Vaughn Jones (32) looks toby CNBpass around UMass players Dana Dingle (left) and Carmelo Travieso.
2. UMass players Tyrone Weeks (34) and Rigoberto Nunez (right) watch
from the bench as the Minutemen lose their first game. color.