UML in Italy Travel Log | Coach Duquette Postgame Interview
AGRIGENTO, Sicily – Junior
Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) scored a game-high 31 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team's comeback efforts were thwarted in the final seconds of a 92-91 thriller against Fortitudo Agrigento on Friday.
"I was pleased in a lot of ways with how we played today," said Head Coach
Pat Duquette. "How we adapted was the best part. The game was very physical and much different even from the last game we played in Florence. This was a very good team we played, the best since we've been here, and we put ourselves in a position to win a couple times. I am proud of our guys for the way they adjusted throughout the whole trip to the environment, different set of rules, the shot clock and all the other variables that we're not used to."
Trailing by 11 points with just 1:20 to go in the fourth, the River Hawks poured in nine straight points to cut the difference to just two at 88-86 with 15 seconds on the clock. The sides traded free throws in the final ticks and a pull-up three from Jones made it a one-point game. However, the clock would expire before UMass Lowell was able to come any closer.
Six of Jones' eight field goals came from beyond the arc in the outing, in addition to going 9-for-11 from the foul line. Redshirt-senior
Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) chipped in with 22 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Sophomore
Rinardo Perry (Washington, D.C.) was the team's only other double-digit scorer with 12 points on the night.
Fortitudo led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, but the River Hawks adjusted in in the second and closed the gap to just five at 32-27 on a basket by sophomore Cam Wolter (Fishers, Ind.). Jones sank a long three to spark seven unanswered points for his squad, knotting the score for the first time at 37-37 with 5:20 remaining in the second quarter.
Although the home team regained a two-possession margin, the River Hawks ended the half on an 8-2 run, including a pair of threes from Jones and a two-handed jam by redshirt-junior
Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.), to lead, 51-49, at the break.
UMass Lowell maintained the upper hand until Fortitudo scored eight in a row to gain a 68-63 advantage with less than two minutes to go in the third.
With the decision, the River Hawks wrap up their Italy exhibition tour with a 1-2 record. The team will spend one more full day in Sicily before traveling home on Sunday, August 27.
