North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Drops Exhibition Game to Imola
8/16/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
In the midst of a 13-day tour of Italy, the Wolfpack has had two rigorous days of travel while facing Imola and Udine. After an hour drive from Venice to its hotel in Padua yesterday, the team drove nearly two hours to face Udine in St. Danielle. NC State did not return to its hotel in Padua until 2 a.m., then drove two hours to face Imola at 5 p.m. today. Following the game, the team drove two hours to Florence, where they will stay for the next three days.
"We had a short turnaround," said coach Herb Sendek. "We had a night game, then an afternoon game back-to-back, it's very warm and we're basically playing seven guys. But that's why we're here. We're here to stretch ourselves and to push to get in the best condition possible."
Imola, one of the best team's in Italy's top professional division (A-1), did not trail in the game. Behind 17 first-half points from Esposito Vincenzo, Imola built a 37-30 halftime lead. Vincenzo finished the game with 22 points, making five three pointers.
"They're a higher-ranked team [than Udine], a first-division team in Italy," said Sendek. "Although he didn't play tonight, to give our fans an idea of the level of play, Vincent Askew is on their team. He played for the Miami Heat and now he's over here."
"These are good players over here," said senior captain Justin Gainey. "Some are good enough to play in the U.S., maybe even in the NBA. Playing against them is a good experience within itself."
Imola pushed its lead to 13 points, 56-43, midway through the second half, but the Pack rallied back behind eight second half points from Anthony Grundy, cutting the lead under double-digits with 8:54 left. Grundy finished the game with a team-high 15 points.
NC State was unable to get any closer however, finding itself in foul trouble for the second straight night. The Pack racked up 28 team fouls as Imola went 25-33 from the stripe. NC State was just 5-8 from the free-throw line. Both Damon Thornton and Archie Miller fouled out of the game for the Pack. Imola point guard Fazzi Cristiano racked up 19 points in the game, going 12-12 from the free-throw line.
"We have to cut down our fouling," said Sendek. "The game is officiated differently than it would be at home. Today the Imola team went to the line 33 times to our eight, and you're obviously not in an advantageous situation when that happens.
"Also, we didn't make a high percentage of our shots, but more than that it comes down to making consecutive stops and we kept sending them to the foul line for one reason or another. That was too much for us to surmount."
NC State made just 26-69 (37.7 percent) field-goal attempts for the game, including 6-24 (25 percent) from three-point line.
"We didn't make too many shots tonight," said Gainey. "We had a hard time getting the ball inside. I think if we can get it inside more we'll get better shots, more wide open."
The Pack returns to action on Monday, facing Don Bosco Basket Livorno at 12 noon in Cecina.
Andrea Costa Imola 77, NC State 63
NC State (26-69, 5-8, 77): Grundy (7-15, 0-0, 15), Miller (4-9, 0-0, 10), Gainey (4-14, 0-0, 8), Kelley (4-14, 0-0, 8), Inge (1-4, 3-6, 7), Hampton (2-2, 0-0, 5), Keeter (1-2, 0-0, 3), Wells (1-4, 0-0, 3), Thornton (1-4, 0-0, 2), Petty (0-0, 2-2, 2), Lentz (0-1, 0-0, 0), Talib (0-0, 0-0, 0). Three-Point Goals: 6-24 (Miller 2-7, Hampton 1-1, Keeter 1-2, Grundy 1-3, Wells 1-4, Thornton 0-1, Lentz 0-1, Gainey 0-5). Rebounds: 34 (Inge 10, Kelley 10). Assists: 10 (Gainey 4). Steals: 7 (Grundy 2, Inge 2).
Imola (23-46, 25-33, 77): Vincenzo (7-17, 3-6, 22), Cristiano (3-7, 12-12, 19), Albert (4-6, 2-5, 10), Diego (3-5, 3-4, 9), Massimiliano (3-4, 2-2, 9), Maunzio (2-7, 0-0, 5), Alberto (0-0, 3-4, 3), Samuel (0-0, 0-1, 0), Joachim (0-0, 0-1, 0), Daniele (0-0, 0-1, 0). Three-Point Goals: 9-24 (Vincenzo 5-13, Massimiliano 1-1, Cristiano 1-5, Maunzio 1-5).
