Ephs fall 88-84 to Italian A-League Montenegro

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.