UMass Tries to Roe, Roe, Roe, but Kansas Rocks the Boat, 81-75 : Wooden Classic: Star forward scores 33 points for Minutemen, but he gets little support as No. 1 ranking will change again.

Another No. 1 fell with a thud Saturday, a victim of poor shooting and a relentless opponent.

Lou Roe tried desperately to hoist top-ranked Massachusetts on his back, but it proved to be a heavy burden down the stretch and seventh-ranked Kansas pulled away for an 81-75 victory in the first game of the John R. Wooden Classic at The Pond of Anaheim.

Roe did his part to keep UMass on top, but he couldn’t guard all five Jayhawks. Or score over them.

He had 33 points and 10 rebounds, often dominating the taller Jayhawk front line, but Roe’s teammates abandoned him late in the game. Against previously top-ranked Arkansas on Nov. 25, Roe scored 34 points and had 13 rebounds in overwhelming the Razorbacks’ Corliss Williamson. He also had help in the 24-point victory. Saturday, he did not.

Against Kansas, the 6-foot-7 forward made 13 of 25 shots from the field. But his teammates made only 17 of 52 shots. Overall, UMass (1-1) shot 39%.

At times, highly touted sophomore center Marcus Camby seemed invisible. Jayhawk big men Raef LaFrentz, who had a team-high 18 points, Greg Ostertag and Scot Pollard dominated the second half.

Camby, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds against defending NCAA champion Arkansas, had two points and five rebounds against Kansas (2-0).

Two free throws by Jacque Vaughn and a three-point basket by Jerod Haase in the game’s final 1:14 helped Kansas seal the victory.

“It was apparent today that we can’t beat the top teams with only one guy,” UMass guard Derek Kellogg said. “The other guys have to step it up a little bit. We can’t count on (Roe) to get 35 points a night.”

UMass Coach John Calipari pointed to his team’s woeful shooting and the Jayhawks’ intensity as the deciding factors.

“I thought we got outplayed, outhustled and outcoached,” Calipari said. “We have shot better. It takes great balance to beat a Kansas or an Arkansas, and you can’t beat them with one player.

“I told Roy (Williams, Kansas coach) ‘You took us out of everything we wanted to do.’ ”

In the end, Calipari made little of losing the top spot. There was a simple lesson to be learned from Saturday’s game.

“I learned that on Dec. 3 Kansas is better than UMass,” he said.

Williams refused to get too excited about the victory, although he was pleased with the Jayhawks’ performance.

“We do realize it’s just one game,” he said. “In about 48 hours from now, we have to play another one.”

Vaughn, a sophomore point guard from Pasadena Muir High, and Haase, a transfer from California, were superb in shredding any pressure UMass threw at them.

Vaughn had 14 points and 11 assists, his second consecutive game with 10 or more assists. Haase had 16 points, including the back-breaking three-point basket with 30 seconds left.

Vaughn slipped the ball to a wide-open Haase, who swished his three-point shot, giving Kansas a more comfortable 78-72 lead.