San Marino, Italy, August 20, 2008
The Williams College men's basketball team suffered its first loss
of their trip today at the hands of an Italian profressional
A-League team, Montenegro, 88-84. In a game characterized by the
competitiveness of both teams, no team ever led by greater than 10
points.
The Ephs jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, but
allowed the Montenegro team to claim the lead midway through the
second quarter. Montenegro pushed their lead to nine with three
minutes left in the half. However, the tides turned when junior
forward Will Hardy took a charge to send the Ephs back to the
offensive end. The Ephs proceeded to outscore their opponent 11-3
in the final three minutes of the half, capped by a Blake Schultz
three pointer at the
buzzer.
In an interesting diplomatic twist, midway through the second
quarter, after one of his players had acquired his fifth foul, the
Montenegro coach exclaimed that since the Williams roster had 15
players to Montenegro's 12, it was only fair that the Montenegro
players be allotted more than 5 fouls each. Unfazed, the Ephs
continued to play their game. When in Rome, right?
The Ephs came out with the momentum in the third quarter, but could
not push their lead into double digits, allowing Montenegro to hang
around. The Montenegro team tied the game on an open lay-up with
five minutes remaining and proceeded to take the lead on a three
pointer from the right wing, making the score 73-70.
The Ephs could not quell Montenegro's momentum as the Italian
proefssional team pushed their lead to ten, 84-74. The Ephs cut the
lead to five, 86-81, with twenty-two seconds left on an
off-balance, three-point, bank shot from senior forward Grant
Meyer. The Ephs proceeded to foul an opposing guard, who converted
on two free throws moving the score to 88-81. On the other end,
junior center Joe Geoghegan came down and converted on a jump shot
in the middle of the lane, depsite being fouled.
Unfortunately, on that same play, Geoghegan landed on an opposing
player's foot, twisting his ankle. He is expected to miss the Ephs
last game on the tour. Junior guard Alex Rubin came in for
Geoghegan and knocked down the free throw, reducing the deficit,
and making the final score 88-84.
The Ephs will play their last game on August 23rd at 10 AM.
Before the game, the Eph coalition visited the Italian city of
Rimini, a picturesque beach town in northeast Italy. Many Ephs
spent the two hours of free time on the beach and likely will
return tomorrow after a morning in the city-state of San Marino.
