Aug. 29, 2007

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PORTO SAN GIORGIO, Italy -- The Providence College men's basketball team defeated Premiata Montegranero, an Italian professional team, 84-83, on Wednesday, August 29 in Porto San Giorgio, Italy. The Friars won on late game heroics as junior guard Weyinmi Efejuku (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) took a long alley oop pass from junior Geoff McDermott (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and laid the ball in at the buzzer for the victory. Efejuku finished with 21 points.

The Friars, facing their toughest competition in Italy, trailed at halftime, 45-43. However, the Friars came out strong in the third quarter and took the lead after 30 minutes of play as they outscored Premiata, 18-13, in the third. In the fourth quarter both teams battled for the lead. Premiata held an 82-79 advantage with 27 seconds remaining in the game when junior Sharaud Curry (Gainesville, Ga.) finished off a perfect night from beyond the three-point arc, knocking in his fifth three-pointer in five attempts to tie the contest at 82-82. Premiata was able to take a one-point advantage (83-82) with 2.7 seconds left as one of its players hit one of two free-throws.

After the made free throw, Friar Head Coach Tim Welsh called a time out to set up the dramatic final play. Due to international rules, the Friars were able to inbound the ball at center court after the time out, which is where McDermott sent in his perfect alley oop pass to Efejuku for the win. Premiata, which had defeated Stanford, 93-79, plays in the A-League in Italy and is considered one of the top professional squads in the country.

In addition to Efejuku's 21 points, Curry had a team-high 23 points and junior Jon Kale (Mattapan, Mass.) added 17 points. McDermott contributed with a team-high 12 rebounds.

Kale's 17 points marked the fourth game on the trip that he has scored 17 or more points. In four games in Italy, the junior center is averaging 18.3 ppg and 9.0 rebounds. He also is an impressive 32-44 (72.7 percent) from the field in those four games. "He (Kale) has been finishing well around the hoop and his post moves are exceptional," Head Coach Tim Welsh said.

The Friars, 2-2 during the Italian tour, look to earn their third win when they face Senigallia in Senigallia, Italy on Thursday, August 29 at 3:30 p.m. EST.

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
		TOT-FG	3-PT		REBOUNDS
No.	Name	FG-FGA	FG-FGA	FT-FTA	OF	DE	TOT	PF	TP	A	TO	BLK	S	MIN.
4	Curry - G	9-14	5-5	0-0	0	2	2	4	23	5	4	0	1	37
13	Efejuku - G	7-14	1-4	6-8	2	4	6	2	21	5	2	0	3	35
23	McKenzie - G	1-2	1-1	0-0	0	1	1	4	3	0	1	0	1	16
11	McDermott - F	3-13	1-3	4-6	1	11	12	4	11	3	2	1	3	37
34	Kale - C	7-9	0-0	3-5	3	4	7	2	17	0	1	0	0	31
5	Williams	0-2	0-1	3-4	1	0	1	4	3	0	0	0	0	14
33	Burch	0-4	0-3	0-0	0	4	4	4	0	1	2	1	2	18
32	Hanke	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	5
55	Hall	1-1	0-0	2-4	1	0	1	2	4	0	1	0	0	7
	TOTALS	29-60	8-17	18-27	9	26	35	26	84	14	13	2	10	200
Score by Quarters	1	2	3	4	TOTALS
Providence College	12	31	18	23	84
Premiata Montegranero	21	24	13	25	83