Massachusetts Gets By on Help From Camby’s Friends

Marcus Camby was again the center of attention for the No. 1 team in college basketball, but Massachusetts stayed unbeaten Thursday night in large part because Camby gets plenty of help.

Camby scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in leading the Minutemen (11-0), but forward Donta Bright’s 15 points--five of which gave Massachusetts its last two leads in the final 2:06--were plenty important.

So was the play of Edgar Padilla, who was playing despite a stomach virus, and Carmelo Travieso, who had eight assists against four turnovers and helped force Mingo Johnson of the Tigers (8-1) into five-for-18 shooting.

The Massachusetts starters all played between 33 and 37 minutes, foul trouble and illness aside.

“I probably play them too many minutes,” Massachusetts Coach John Calipari said. “But then you think of all the things they do. . . . Edgar’s fearless, always has been. Marcus carried us when we needed him to carry us. Donta gets the three [-point basket] and the layup at the end.”

Memphis, which trailed by 16 points in the first half, took the lead, 48-46, on a three-point basket by Rodney Newsom with 11:02 to play.

Bright’s three-point shot with 2:06 left gave the Minutemen a 58-56 lead. Memphis took the lead one more time on a free throw by Michael Wilson and Johnson’s reverse layup with 1:16 left, countered by Bright’s drive nine seconds later.

No. 4 Kansas 108, East Tennessee State 73--Paul Pierce, a freshman emerging as a powerful force for the Jayhawks, scored 30 points in their victory at Lawrence, Kan.

The Buccaneers (3-5) shot 22% in a first half in which Kansas (9-1) blocked seven shots and took a 60-25 lead.

Ryan Robertson scored 11 points and Scot Pollard--who had nine rebounds--and Jacque Vaughn each scored 10 points for Kansas. Shahid Perkins scored 12 points for East Tennessee State.

No. 16 North Carolina 96, North Carolina State 72--Antawn Jamison scored 26 points and Vince Carter had 18 for the Tar Heels (10-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) in a freshman-dominated victory accomplished in Chapel Hill, N.C., without leading scorer Jeff McInnis.

North Carolina State (8-3, 0-1 ACC) missed on 31 of 41 three-point shots.

No. 18 Virginia Tech 76, North Carolina Charlotte 60--Ace Custis scored 15 points and Jim Jackson had all 14 of his in the second half for the Hokies (7-1), who took advantage of poor shooting by North Carolina Charlotte (5-4) in a game at Worcester, Mass.

No. 25 New Mexico 61, Air Force 49--Charles Smith scored 18 points to lead the visiting Lobos, who fought back an Air Force rally.

OTHER GAMES

Quinton Brooks scored 10 of his 22 points in East Lansing, Mich., during a 22-7 second-half run that carried Michigan State (7-6) to a 65-60 victory over Indiana (7-6) in the Big Ten opener for each team. . . . Leon Carter scored 19 points to lead San Diego State (6-3, 2-0 in the WAC) to an 80-77 victory over Wyoming (6-6, 0-2) at San Diego. . . . Colin Bryant led five players in double figures with 21 points as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (7-5) was an 82-74 winner over Oral Roberts (4-5) in San Luis Obispo. . . . Jermaine Smith and Tony Lane each scored 17 points for Nevada Las Vegas (4-5) in a 66-57 victory over Utah State (6-6) in the Big West opener for both teams.