Entry No. 4: Stanford Falls To Montegranaro 93-79
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Release: 08/25/2007
Aug. 25, 2007
NORCIA, Italy- Premiata Basket Montegranaro knocked down 13 three-pointers and withstood a late Stanford rally to hang on for a 93-79 victory on Saturday night at the Palasport Salicone in Norcia, Italy.
Backed by a vocal home crowd of approximately 250 supporters, Montegranaro used a hot-shooting touch from the perimeter to race out to a 57-34 halftime lead. Montegranaro led by as much as 31 points, going up 85-54 at the 9:23 mark of the fourth quarter. However, Stanford scored 25 of the game's final 36 points and continued to chip away at the deficit.
Practicing for its 10th straight day and boasting starters such as 2004 second-round NBA Draft choice Ricky Minard, Montegranaro figured to be the toughest opponent yet and took command early on. Conversely, Stanford arrived in Norcia following a 3.5-hour bus ride from Rome and finished checking into its team hotel just two hours prior to tip-off.
"Despite the loss, this was an encouraging game for our team," said head coach Trent Johnson. "We got hurt in transition defense and our shots did not go down for us early on. In the fourth quarter, I thought we played with a lot of intensity and fought our way back into the game. However, we have to do a better job of guarding without fouling."
Lawrence Hill led the Cardinal with 22 points, draining three triples while pulling down five rebounds and knocking down 5-6 from the charity stripe. Landry Fields added 16 points and seven boards while Robin Lopez and Anthony Goods chipped in with 12 points each.
Peter Prowitt snagged a team-high eight boards while Mitch Johnson led the Cardinal with four assists.
Montegranaro's first three-pointer of the game stretched its lead to 5-2 at the 8:41 mark, representing Stanford's biggest deficit of the tour so far. It also turned out to be the first of eight three-pointers during the first 10 minutes and 13 overall.
Hill did his best to keep Stanford close in the first period, pouring in nine points. Montegranaro led 25-21 after the first 10 minutes.
Montegranaro's second straight three-pointer to open the second period extended its lead to double-digits at 33-21 with 8:25 on the clock. The lead swelled to 50-29 by the 2:55 mark and Montegranaro took a 57-34 edge into the break.
Montegranaro knocked down four more three-pointers in the third period and led 82-54 after 30 minutes.
Trailing 85-54 early in the fourth period, Stanford erupted for a 20-3 scoring burst. A three-point play from Fields cut the lead to 86-59, a jumper from Goods sliced the margin to 86-68 and a turn-around bucket by Robin Lopezbrought the Cardinal within 90-76 with just under one minute remaining.
Stanford takes the court next on Monday, Aug. 27, against an opponent to be determined. That game kicks off four straight days of action before returning home on Friday, Aug. 31.
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Final totals: Hill (22 points, 5 rebounds, 3-6 3FG, 5-6 FT) ... Fields (16 points, 7 rebounds, 1-4 3FG, 3-3 FT) ... Robin Lopez (12 points, 2 rebounds, 2-3 FT) ... Goods (12 points, 5 rebounds, 2-3 3FG) ... Brook Lopez (6 points, 4 rebounds, 0-1 3FG) ... Will Paul (3 points, 2 rebounds, 3-4 FT) ... Peter Prowitt (3 points, 8 rebounds, 3-6 FT) ... Brown (2 points, 0-3 3FG, 2-2 FT) ... Johnson (2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 0-1 3FG) ... Dildy (1 point, 1-2 FT).
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Notable averages through the first three games: Goods (16.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg) ... Fields (15.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg) ... Hill (10.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg) ... Brook Lopez (9.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg) ... Robin Lopez (7.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg) ... Prowitt (6.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg) ... Johnson (3.6 ppg, 4.3 apg).
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Stanford left Rome on Saturday at 11 a.m. local time and arrived in Norcia at 2:30 p.m. following a break for lunch. The Cardinal arrived at its team hotel in Norcia only to find that a handful of rooms were ready at that time. The remainder of the travel party continued to check in one room at a time over the next 3.5 hours. Stanford spends the night in Norcia before a four-hour bus ride to Florence awaits on Sunday morning. Later in the afternoon, the travel party will visit the Galleria dell' Accademia, Duomo and Ponte Vecchio.