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AP Photo

University of Massachusetts coach Derek Kellogg directs his players during their Legends Classic semifinal Friday against Rutgers in Atlantic City, N.J. Rutgers won 83-75.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg had been considering trying Ricky Harris at point guard for a while after David Gibbs and Gary Correia had been inconsistent all season.

With his Minutemen trailing by 19 in the second half and Rutgers denying Harris the ball, Kellogg didn't have much to lose Friday night in the semifinals of the Legends Classic.

While the move did not produce a win, it sparked UMass which cut the lead to four late before the Scarlet Knights won 83-75. And it worked well enough to warrant further use down the road.

"I thought the way our offense was stalled it was a good opportunity to give it a shot and see how it worked," Kellogg said. "They were doing a nice job of not letting (Harris) get the ball. You can't not let him get it, if he already has it.

"... By putting the ball in his hands some, it will make it easier because now they're going to key on him and he can get other guys open shots," Kellogg added.

The move helped both Harris and Gibbs, who played better when he was no longer burdened by the pressure of controlling the offense. Gibbs scored 11 points, matching his career high, which was more than twice the total points (five) he had in the first four games combined.

Gibbs was strong defensively, too, locking up Mike Rosario, who had 18 points in the first half and just four in the second.

"I thought David Gibbs looked a lot more comfortable. Now David can get a little pressure off him and catch the ball and go with it," Kellogg said. Harris had 22 points, two assists and five turnovers, but got better at handling the ball the longer he played the position.

"I'm confident playing the point. I know I can play it," Harris said. "Coach is confident in me. When I do this it makes it easier for the other guys cause I can make plays for them and get them open shots."

In Friday's second semifinal. Florida upset No. 2 Michigan State 77-74. The Minutemen (2-3) will play the Spartans (4-1) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the third-place game.

It will be tougher for the Minutemen to use Harris to handle the ball against Michigan State which boasts Kalin Lucas, the 2008-09 Big Ten player of the year at point guard.

He figures to be better at guarding Harris than anyone Rutgers had.

BAILEY BACK - UMass junior big man Hashim "Big City" Bailey returned to action after missing the last two games with a groin injury. He finished with one point, two rebounds and four fouls in 14 minutes. But Bailey helped negate Gregory Echenique's size advantage inside in the first half.

UMASS IN ATLANTIC CITY - The Minutemen dropped their fourth straight game in Atlantic City, with the other three coming in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

HARRIS MILESTONES - With 22 points, Harris now was 1,438 in his career which moves him into UMass all-time top 10 scoring list. He passed Horace Neysmith (1,428). Next up is Mike Pyatt who scored 1,503 between 1974-78.

MISCELLANEOUS - Former Minuteman point guard Chris Lowe was in attendance. Lowe was cut by the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League earlier this month. Two Rutgers players, Jonathan Mitchell and Mike Coburn, were his teammates at Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High School.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.