July 12, 2006
TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan–University of New Mexico junior Tony Danridge scored 20 points for the second time in five games in the William Jones Cup in Taiwan to lead Athletes in Action to a 108-81 win over Japan today. Representing the U.S. in the international event, AIA is now 4-1 in round-robin action. Qatar is the only undefeated team at 5-0, downing AIA 83-77 on Tuesday.
It was a struggle early as Japan lead for most of the first quarter, but two quick buckets to start the second period put AIA in the lead for good. Herndon was perfect from the floor in the first half, making all six of his attempts. A seven point half-time lead quickly grew to 13 points just three minutes into the secondhalf. Japan had no answer defensively for the larger AIA team. The size advantage also enabled AIA to out rebound Japan 59-24. Head Coach Mike Jarvis commented that, “we were able to take advantage of our height. Boomer had his best game so far with us tonight.”
Josh Carter of Texas A&M had his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Danridge also recorded a double-double by pulling down 11 boards to go with his 20 points. Danridge is averaging 12.8 ppg in five games of the tournament. Luke Zeller of Notre Dame contributed with nine points and eleven rebounds. Former Lobo Troy DeVries added 19 points while shooting 4 for 5 from behind the arc and Kansas’ Christian Moody snatched nine rebounds while scoring eight points.
The difference maker in the game, however, was the defense against Japan’s Yusuke Okada. Okada had averaged 31 points in the first four games of the tournament, but the tough AIA defense held him to 13 points while shooting 20 percent from the field. JaRon Jefferson fromMontana State drew that assignment for most of his 30 minutes. On top of stellar defense, Jefferson scored 11 points had seven rebounds and three assists. Japan’s Yosuk Machida said, “We don’t need to rely on Okada. This was our best game so far and I think we can accomplish what coach wants. We just need to be better in the paint.”
Lobo sophomore Daniel Faris sat out the game with an ankle sprain suffered during the first half against Qatar and Dominique Kirk missed the game with a sore hamstring. Both are expected to be available for Thursday’s game against the Philippines set for 5PM.
Typhoon Bilis is bearing down on Taiwan and set for landfall on Thursday afternoon, which could effect the schedule of games.
William Jones Cup Standings
Qatar 5-0
AIA 4-1
Korea 3-2
Taiwan 3-2
Australia 2-3
Kazakhstan 2-3
Philippines 1-4
Japan 0-5
Day Five Scores (Wednesday)
AIA108, Japan 81
Kazakhstan 91, Philippines 86
Qatar 88, Korea 78
Taiwan 69, Australia 61
Day Six Schedule (Thursday)
Japan vs Kazakhstan 1PM
Australia vs Korea 3PM
AIA vs Philippines 5PM
Qatar vs Taiwan 7PM