Georgetown         34   28  -   62
Massachusetts      38   48  -   86

(Sun Mar 24 6:00:01 1996) -- Marcus Camby scored eight of his 22 points in a 15-2 run to start the second half as top seed Massachusetts advanced to its first-ever Final Four with a 86-62 rout of second-seeded Georgetown in the East Region Finals at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Carmelo Travieso added 20 points for Massachusetts (35-1), which earned a rematch with Kentucky in a national semifinal game at the Continental Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on March 30th. Kentucky advanced by winning the Midwest Region.

The Minutmen defeated Kentucky, 92-82, in a Great Eight game at Auburn Hills, Michigan on November 28th.

Allen Iverson scored 23 points for Georgetown (29-8), which was denied in an attempt to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1985. Othella Harrington added 13 points for the Hoyas.

"I was putting up all that looked like good shots," said Iverson. "Unfortunately, they just weren't falling down for me like they were in the second half. I think they just did a good defensive job."

Georgetown closed the first half on a 11-3 run to pull within 38-34, but the Minutemen blew the game open over the first 5:33 of the second half.

Camby opened the scoring with a tip-in and added a jumper and layup to make it 44-34. Donta Bright converted a three-point play before Jahidi White scored Georgetown's first point of the half with a free throw at the 17:47 mark to make it 47-35.

Camby countered with a layup and Harrington made 1-of-2 from the line for the Hoyas. Travieso nailed a three-pointer before Dana Dingle capped the burst with 1-of-2 free throws to make it 53-36 with 14:27 to play.

"You saw UMass basketball today," Minutemen coach John Calipari said. "Great defense, diving on the floor for loose balls, unselfish play, playing with emotion and passion and rebounding the heck out of the basketball. We always talk about how we want to play our best basketball in March, and right now we're playing as well as we've played all year."

Daymond Jackson ended Georgetown's drought from the field with a layup at the 14:15 mark, cutting the defecit to 53-38.

Camby was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the East Region. Travieso and Donta Bright were also named to the East Region's All-Tournament team.

"Last year we were in the same situation and came out kind of flat, so I took it upon myself to make things happen," Camby said, referring to last year's loss in the regional finals to Oklahoma State. "I had a tip-in, got myself into a rhythm and I started knocking sown shots."

Georgetown came as close as 64-51 on a layup by Harrington, but the Minutemen scored the next seven points as Dingle made a foul shot and Travieso made two free throws and a three-pointer before Dingle capped the burst with a free throw to open a 71-51 cushion with 6:19 remaining.

Massachusetts took its largest lead of the game when Ross Burns hit a layup with 32 seconds to play for the final margin.

The Hoyas shot just 27.6 per cent (8-of-29) in the second half and 35 per cent (20-of-57) overall. Georgetown committed 22 turnovers, leading to 31 points for the Minutemen.

Jerome Williams added nine points and eight rebounds for Georgetown, which shot 4-of-15 from three-point range, with Iverson making 4-of-9.

"They're physically stronger than I thought," said Georgetown coach John Thompson. They kept us on the perimeter more than I thought. We couldn't penetrate as much and get inside where we'd like to be."

Bright finished with 17 points and Dingle added 10 for Massachusetts, which shot 41.5 per cent (27-of-65) from the field. Travieso hit six three-pointers for the Minutemen, who made 7-of-16 from long range.

The Minutemen outscored Georgetown at the foul line, 25-18. Tyrone Weeks, who had 16 points in Massachusetts' semifinal victory over Arkansas, had four points and eight rebounds off the bench.