Men's Basketball Release (2004-05) - Guilford defeats Italian Jr. Nat'l Team - Guilford College

GUILFORD SCORES EXHIBITION MEN'S BASKETBALL WIN OVER ITALIAN JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM, 74-60

Greensboro, NC (11/10/04) -- Guilford's Genaro Lawhorn and Brandon Clifford scored 13 points apiece in the Quakers' 74-60 men's basketball exhibition win over the Italian under-18 National Team Wednesday night in Guilford's Alumni Gym. The Quakers enjoyed a commanding 58-35 rebounding advantage and made 25 of 37 free throws, while the Italians made 16-of-30 shots from the charity stripe.

Guilford broke open a 35-35 game at the start of the second half with a 14-2 run sparked by three-pointers from junior Kevin Smith and junior Patrick Stephenson. The Quakers' edge grew to as many as 14 with 12:56 left. The Italians never drew closer than nine points the rest of the way and managed only 29.2 percent field-goal shooting in the second half. Guilford converted Italy's 11 second-half turnovers into 26 points. Smith scored eight of his 12 points and Clifford added seven in the second half.

Despite arriving in the United States Tuesday and playing in the cozy confines of Guilford's basketball home from 1940-1980, the Italian teens started strong, made four of their first five shots and opened a 14-3 lead. Despite missing 11 of its first 14 shots from the floor, Guilford gradually got back into the game behind the inside play Lawhorn and Clifford. While the Italians boasted a tall and athletic lineup, they had little answer for the 6-6, 320-pound Lawhorn and 6-9, 270-pound Clifford in the post. Lawhorn scored all 13 of his points in the first half before leaving the game with a second-half knee injury. The pair also induced Italy into early foul trouble, which resulted in the Quakers' 29 first-half free-throw attempts.

Italian forward Luigi Da Tome, the Most Valuable Player of the 2003 under-16 European Championships, led three Italians in double-figure scoring with 13 points and three assists. Point guard Stefano Mercante added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Guard Alberto D'Inca scored 11 points off the bench. Guard Danilo Gallinari, the key to Italy's sixth-place finish at this summer's under-16 European Championships, scored only one point and missed all six shots from the floor. A top Italian prospect, Gallinari led the 2004 European Championships with 18.6 points per game.

The contest drew 465 fans to the first Guilford men's basketball game in Alumni Gym in 24 years and the Quakers' first against an international team. Some fans dressed in 1970s style clothing and were entertained by music from the era. The Quakers' regularly played to packed houses in the "Cracker Box," as it was called during its basketball heydays of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Italian team continues its six-game, eight-day exhibition schedule November 12 at Oak Hill (VA) Academy. Guilford hosts NCAA Division II Shaw in its final preseason tune-up Nov. 13 at 3:00 p.m.

Newspaper Box Score
Italian U-18 National Team vs Guilford
11/10/04 7:00 pm at Greensboro, NC - Alumni Gym
At Greensboro, NC - Alumni Gym

GUILFORD 74, ITALIAN U-18 NATIONAL TEAM 60

ITALIAN U-18 NATIONAL TEAM
DA TOME, Luigi 4-11 4-4 13; MERCANTE, Stefano 4-6 1-2 11; D'INCA, Alberto
4-7 0-0 11; CHIUMENTI, Alberto 3-6 1-4 7; BRUTTINI, Davide 1-4 3-6 5;
GANETO, Gabriele 2-6 1-4 5; FERRARESE, Simone 1-5 2-2 4; PERSICO, Edoardo
0-1 3-4 3; GALLINARI, Danilo 0-6 1-4 1; VETRONE, Luca 0-2 0-0 0; CANDELA,
Simone 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 16-30 60.

GUILFORD
LAWHORN, Genaro 3-6 7-11 13; CLIFFORD, Brandon 4-12 5-8 13; SMITH, Kevin 3-7
5-5 12; STORUS, Kevin 3-15 4-4 10; SHARPE, Andy 3-6 0-0 6; BURGE, Thomas 2-4
1-3 5; SNIPES, Jordan 2-4 0-0 5; STEPHENSON, Patrick 1-3 0-0 3; KIMBROUGH,
Caleb 1-3 1-2 3; STRONG, Ben 1-4 0-0 2; GRAY, Ashford 0-4 2-4 2. Totals
23-68 25-37 74.

Italian U-18 National Team..........35 25 - 60
Guilford......................................35 39 - 74

3-POINT GOALS

Italian U-18 National Team (6-23) - (D'INCA, Alberto 3-6, MERCANTE, Stefano 2-3; DA TOME, Luigi 1-5; FERRARESE, Simone 0-1; GALLINARI, Danilo 0-4; VETRONE, Luca 0-2; CANDELA, Simone 0-1, CHIUMENTI, Alberto 0-1)

Guilford (3-15) - (STEPHENSON, Patrick 1-2; SMITH, Kevin 1-3; SNIPES, Jordan
1-2; KIMBROUGH, Caleb 0-2; GRAY, Ashford 0-1; STORUS, Kevin 0-3; CLIFFORD,
Brandon 0-2).

FOULED OUT

Italian U-18 National Team-None

Guilford-None.

REBOUNDS

Italian U-18 National Team 35 (MERCANTE, Stefano 7)

Guilford 58 - (STORUS, Kevin 10). Assists-Italian U-18 National Team 8 (DA TOME, Luigi 3),
Guilford 15 (KIMBROUGH, Caleb 4).

TOTAL FOULS

Italian U-18 National Team 26

Guilford 22