LSU won its second straight game on Friday in Italy and here’s a report on the trip to the city of Anagni:
Day 3: Friday, May 20, 2011
The team bus was scheduled to depart at 3:30 p.m., but the entire squad was in the hotel lobby by 3 as they anticipated their second game in as many days. The destination would be the city of Anagni, a beautiful hilltop town about an hour and 35 minutes outside of Rome. The sports complex where the Anagni Basket team competes not only had a main basketball arena, but also 2 additional basketball practice facility courts, and a soccer stadium.
Tip-off was at 6:30pm and the Tigers jumped out to an early first quarter lead (29-18), but Anagni Basket battled back in the second quarter. The uptempo pace of the first half was handled well as the Tigers executed their offense and play solid defense.
“For the second straight day, we played well,” said Coach Trent Johnson. “We shot the ball well again. We had some breakdowns on the defensive end, but we’ll get those corrected.”
LSU had five players score in double figures, two with double-digit rebounds, and 22 assists on 40 made field goals. While the Tiger post players established a presence in the paint during the first half, the perimeter players were able to sink nine three point field goals during the game on the way to a 99-77 victory.
“The evidence is in the statistics,” Coach Johnson remarked. “We’re playing at a faster pace with a 24 second shot clock and we’ve handled the adjustment.”
Once again, all eleven Tigers saw court time versus the all Italian squad which plays in division A-3.
Following the game, the team stopped at La Galleria di Sopra in the city of Albano. This family-owned restaurant is located just a few miles away from one of the Pope’s summer homes. Similar to what we experience in Louisiana, the food is a great point of pride for the people of Italy and we enjoyed a fabulous Italian dinner.
Scoring
22 – Justin Hamilton
21 – Ralston Turner
16 – Storm Warren
14 – Eddie Ludwig
10 – Andre Stringer
7 – Matt Derenbecker
4 – Chris Bass, Malcolm White
1 – Garrett Green
Rebounds
10 – Justin Hamilton, Storm Warren
7 – Matt Derenbecker
6 – Chris Bass
4 – Eddie Ludwig, Jalen Courtney, Ralston Turner
3 – Malcolm White
2 – Garrett Green
1 – Andre Stringer
Assists
9 – Chris Bass
7 – Ralston Turner
5 – Andre Stringer
1 – Matt Derenbecker, Storm Warren, Andrew Del Piero