Camby Cleared to Play for UMass
Center Marcus Camby was cleared Thursday to play again for No. 1 Massachusetts after doctors could not determine why he passed out for 10 minutes before Sunday’s game against St. Bonaventure.
Camby was released from University of Massachusetts Medical Center, where he underwent four days of extensive tests, including a screening for drugs and toxic substances.
The junior center won’t play Saturday at Duquesne, but Coach John Calipari didn’t rule out a return for Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh. Calipari said Camby might start shooting today but wouldn’t participate immediately in a full-scale practice.
“For the next week or so we’ll see how he feels and then we’ll move on,” Calipari said. “When he plays will be up to Marcus.”
Massachusetts improved its record to 15-0 with a 77-71 victory over Rhode Island Wednesday night, its second game without Camby, who is averaging 20.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots.
No. 9 Memphis 94, Arkansas 72--Forward Rodney Newsom made seven of 12 three-point shots and scored 23 points as the Tigers (12-2) won their 28th consecutive home game--the nation’s second-longest streak.
Memphis broke open the game with a 19-1 run over a span of 4:44 in the second half and Arkansas (9-6) never got closer than 16 points the rest of the game.
Arkansas had won the last four games of the nonconference rivalry.
No. 11 Virginia Tech 63, Dayton 62--Forward Coby Turner’s double-pump, driving shot from just inside the foul line bounced off the rim with four seconds left, allowing the Hokies (11-1, 4-0) to hold off the Flyers (9-6, 1-3) in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Blacksburg, Va.
Forward Ace Custis, who led Virginia Tech with 17 points, made a free throw at 1:25 that accounted for the last of seven lead changes in the game’s final 10 minutes.
No. 15 Utah 86, Colorado St. 82--Leading scorer Keith Van Horn, who averages less than one assist a game, drove and passed to Ben Melmeth, who dunked the ball and was fouled with 16 seconds in a key play of the second overtime of a Western Athletic Conference game at Salt Lake City.
Bryan Christiansen made a jump shot for Colorado State (9-6, 3-3) with four seconds to go and Andre Miller made two foul shots for Utah with three seconds left to secure the victory for the Utes (13-3, 5-1).
Van Horn led the Utah with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 16 Iowa 82, Illinois 79--Guard Chris Kingsbury, one of three players pulled from the starting lineup, scored 18 points and regained his three-point shooting touch during a key run for the Hawkeyes (14-3, 3-2) in a Big Ten Conference game at Iowa City.
Iowa Coach Tom Davis, disappointed with the team’s lackluster play in a loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, removed leading scorer and rebounder Russ Millard, forward Kenyon Murray and Kingsbury from the game’s starting lineup. All three were reinserted as starters for the second half.
Illinois (11-6, 0-5), which had shot 37% from the field in its previous Big Ten games, outshot Iowa, 50% to 41%, but made 19 fewer free throws (26-7).
OTHER GAMES
Center Khary Stanley scored a career-high 20 points to lead Fresno State (11-5, 5-1) to a 79-67 home-court victory over San Diego State (8-6, 4-3) in a Western Athletic Conference game. Center Leon Carter scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half. . . . Forward Jason Johnson scored 11 of his career-high 15 points in the second half to lead the San Francisco (10-6, 3-1) to a 63-57 West Coast Conference victory over Portland (10-5, 1-2), which lost for the first time at home in 19 games. . . . Guard Jon Kinloch scored six of his 13 points in the final 30 seconds as Gonzaga (11-4, 2-1) was a 60-53 home-court winner over San Diego (7-7, 2-2) in a WCC game.
Guard Chris Collins scored 20 points, including a decisive three-point basket with 5.5 seconds left, as Duke (10-6, 1-4) rallied for a 71-70 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over North Carolina State (11-1, 1-3) at Raleigh, N.C. Collins’ basket, which hit the rim twice before falling in, gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the second half.
College Basketball Notes
Point guard Merl Code, the leading scorer for No. 19 Clemson, will have surgery on his right knee and is expected to be sidelined the rest of the season.