Entry No. 2: Cardinal Routs Veroli In First Game
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Release: 08/22/2007
Aug. 22, 2007
ROME- The Stanford men's basketball team kicked off its six-game, 11-day foreign tour with a 103-52 rout of Veroli on Wednesday night at Palla Coccia.
The Cardinal was scheduled to square off against Prima Veroli, the highest level of the pro organization. However, because American players that the club had signed did not arrive in Italy on time, Stanford instead faced the junior level Veroli squad.
And the difference was evident from the start, with Brook Lopez emphatically swatting away a three-point attempt on Veroli's first shot of the contest. That same athleticism and stingy defense helped guide Stanford to a lop-sided victory on its opponents' home court.
"It was unfortunate that we were unable to play against their professional team," said head coach Trent Johnson. "However, it was good for the guys to get out and play basketball since they had not been on a court in three days. That's the big emphasis: to get out there and sweat. Moving forward, the competition will be much tougher but it was nice to play against someone other than ourselves."
Anthony Goods led four Cardinal players in double-figure scoring with 19. Landry Fields chipped in with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds (seven defensive) while Will Paul added 12 and Brook Lopez 10.
Kenny Brown and Lawrence Hill both contributed seven rebounds, with Hill earning six of his boards on the defensive glass.
Drew Shiller dished out four assists, while Mitch Johnson, Goods and Hill added three apiece.
Stanford led 50-25 at halftime and stretched its lead to 50 following a bucket by Paul with 3:14 remaining in the contest.
The teams played four 10-minute periods, and the game featured a 24-second shot clock and extended three-point line. Any ball on the rim could be tipped in on offense or tipped out on defense.
"I thought this was a good opportunity for guys like Kenny, Peter, Da'Veed, Drew and Will, since they had not played much if any in the past year."
After three ties, Stanford grabbed its first lead of the game at 9-7 following a dunk by Fields at the 6:42 mark. The Cardinal's largest lead of the first stanza came with just under three minutes left as Johnson drained a three-pointer to go up 24-9. A pair of free throws from Brook Lopez closed out the half with Stanford leading 29-16.
Stanford scored nine of the first 11 points to open the second period, capped by a lay-up from Da'Veed Dildy at the 5:32 mark to go up 38-18. Shiller, a transfer from San Francisco who sat out last year due to NCAA rules, connected on a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points. A bucket from Peter Prowitt as time expired gave the Cardinal a 50-25 lead at intermission.
Four minutes into the third period, Stanford enjoyed its first 30-point advantage when Goods provided a two-handed finish on a pass from Johnson to go up 59-29. Leading 61-38, Goods continued his scoring surge with three consecutive baskets (three-pointer, dunk and short jumper) to put the Cardinal up 68-38. A triple from Paul rounded out the scoring and Stanford led 76-41 through three periods.
The Cardinal broke the 100-point plateau with 1:12 remaining in the contest, as Shiller gunned a pass inside to Prowitt for a 101-52 lead.
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Head coach Trent Johnson employed a different lineup at the start of each period and all 11 available players saw court time. Johnson's starting five consisted of Johnson, Goods, Fields, Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez. The second quarter starters featured Shiller, Brown, Dildy, Hill and Prowitt. The third period began with Johnson, Goods, Hill,Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez. The starting lineup for the final quarter included Shiller, Brown, Dildy, Fields and Prowitt.
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Final totals: Goods (19 points, 3 rebounds), Fields (13 points, 8 rebounds), Paul (12 points, 2 rebounds), Brook Lopez (10 points, 2 rebounds), Dildy (9 points, 3 rebounds), Robin Lopez (9 points, 4 rebounds), Johnson (7 points), Brown (7 points, 7 rebounds), Prowitt (7 points, 3 rebounds), Shiller (6 points, 2 rebounds) and Hill (4 points, 7 rebounds).
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Stanford's next game is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 24, against Ostia at 8:30 p.m. local time. The Cardinal will depart Rome on Saturday morning.