Umass, Arkansas Make Cut In East

East Region

Massachusetts is proof a gaudy record doesn’t have to mean impressive wins.

The top-ranked Minutemen held off ninth-seeded Stanford 79-74 Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament. It wasn’t one to keep for the tape collection, but it did move UMass on to Thursday’s East Regional semifinal in Atlanta against Arkansas, a 65-56 winner over Marquette.

“You have to understand we’re not the kind of team that beats people by 50 points,” UMass coach John Calipari said. “We haven’t been all year. We’re a grind-it-out basketball team.”

The grinding this time came after Stanford (20-9) had managed to erase a 13-point deficit with 7 minutes to play, getting within 75-74 with 52 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Dion Cross.

Donta Bright’s foul-line jumper with 31 seconds left restored the lead to three. Stanford freshman Peter Sauer, who had been one of the keys to the comeback, missed a 3-pointer from the left side with 15 seconds left, ending the Cardinal’s run.

Although All-American center Marcus Camby was saddled with foul trouble, the Minutemen turned a 33-31 halftime lead into a 66-53 edge with 7:06 to play.

Camby, who played 29 minutes, had 20 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.

UMass 79, Stanford 74

Stanford (20-9) - Harbour 1-6 0-0 2, Poppink 3-13 3-6 9, Allaway 2-2 0-0 4, Cross 6-16 2-2 16, Knight 8-17 10-13 27, Weems 2-2 0-0 5, Sauer 5-7 0-0 11, Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Seaton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 15-21 74.

UMass (33-1) - Dingle 5-6 2-2 13, Bright 5-13 4-4 14, Camby 9-15 2-4 20, E.Padilla 2-5 0-0 6, Travieso 5-12 1-3 14, Clarke 1-2 0-0 2, Weeks 5-6 0-0 10, Nunez 0-0 0-0 0, Norville 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-59 9-13 79.

Halftime-UMass 33, Stanford 31. 3-Point goals-Stanford 5-20 (Cross 2-9, Weems 1-1, Sauer 1-3, Knight 1-5, Harbour 0-1, Poppink 0-1), UMass 6-16 (Travieso 3-10, Padilla 2-3, Dingle 1-1, Bright 0-1, Clarke 0-1). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Stanford 31 (Sauer 7), UMass 35 (Dingle, Camby 8). Assists-Stanford 13 (Knight 9), UMass 23 (Padilla 12). Total fouls-Stanford 12, UMass 16. A-11,931.

Arkansas 65, Marquette 56

Non-stop defensive pressure led by four tireless freshmen lifted the Razorbacks to their fourth consecutive NCAA regional semifinal.

“Their style wears you out,” Marquette coach Mike Deane said. “I thought we handled the pressure, but as it wears you out it takes away from your shooting.”

Marquette, 6 of 29 in the second half, had none in the final 8:59 until a 3 at the buzzer.

“We don’t want to stop here,” Arkansas junior Darnell Robinson said. “I’m trying to win another national championship. That’s the type of responsibility I want.”

Arkansas (20-12) - Towns 4-8 1-2 11, Hood 4-10 3-6 11, Robinson 5-19 0-2 10, Reid 1-10 4-8 6, Bradley 4-10 0-0 12, Thompson 0-4 0-0 0, Williams 3-7 1-2 7, Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Wilson 3-8 2-3 8, Whitney 0-0 0-0 0, Merritt 0-0 0-0 0, Engskov 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-77 11-23 65.

Marquette (23-8) - Crawford 2-5 1-1 5, Eford 2-12 0-0 5, McCaskill 0-3 4-8 4, Pieper 4-20 2-2 13, Hutchins 5-13 6-6 20, Bargen 0-0 0-0 0, McCall 2-2 0-0 6, Shaw 0-1 0-0 0, Abraham 0-0 0-0 0, Lovette 0-0 3-4 3. Totals 15-56 16-21 56.

Halftime-Marquette 33, Arkansas 31. 3-point goals-Arkansas 6-20 (Bradley 4-9, Towns 2-4, Robinson 0-1, Hall 0-1, Williams 0-2, Reid 0-3), Marquette 10-30 (Hutchins 4-7, Pieper 3-14, McCall 2-2, Eford 1-7). Fouled out-Crawford. Rebounds-Arkansas 54 (Hood 13), Marquette 47 (McCaskill 11). Assists-Arkansas 13 (Reid 9), Marquette 13 (Pieper 4). Total fouls- Arkansas 20, Marquette 21. A-11,931.

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