May 25, 2007

SAN MARINO - Lafayette used the hot perimeter shooting of Paul Cummins and Jesper Andersson to pull away a to a 91-80 victory on Thursday night over the San Marino national team. The Leopards hit 16 three-pointers.

Cummins scored 23 points on four three-pointers and snatched six boards, several on the offensive end. Andersson did almost all of his scoring from outside, hitting six three-points on his way to 20 points. Andersson also collected five rebounds.

Andrew Brown netted all 12 of his points from beyond the international three-point line (20'6") while Mike Gruner (12 points) and Jeff Robinson (8 points) each hit a trey.

Matt Betley, who is coming off foot surgery, saw his first action of the Italy trip, scoring three points in limited action after starting the game.

Andrea Raschi, a player on a professional team at the B-1 level in Siena, Italy, scored a game-high 30 points to lead the San Marino National Team.

Lafayette will complete its competitive portion of the tour, playing College Italia at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in Rome.

Notes:
The Republic of San Marino is one of the oldest republics in the world and is a state with its own government independent of Italy. The capital shares the name of the republic and it is located on Mount Titan (Monte Titano) with three castles guarding the three peaks of the hill. It was originally established as a place to escape religious persecution. In order to live in San Marino, one must either be born in there or marry a resident.

The Italian Olympic Committee and its president, met upstairs in the San Marino sports complex while Lafayette's game was being played.

It marked the third straight game in Italy in which the tip-off was slated for 8:30 p.m., however, it was the only gymnasium which has been air-conditioned.