July 17, 2006
It turned out how it was supposed to, the host Chinese Taipei team was in the finals of the 28th William Jones Cup and that made for a memorable atmosphere. Fans filled any and every empty space in the Taipei Physical Education College Gym and the standing room only crowd was on their feet the entire game. In the end however, it was a near perfect effort by the Athletes in Action squad that gave them the game and the tournament title 79-69.
AIA jumped to a 12-2 lead just four minutes into the contest and held a 24-16 advantage after the first quarter, but Taiwan used the energy from the crowd to come storming back and tie the game at 26. After a time-out to regroup, AIA quickly regained the lead and would never trail or be tied again.
AIA out rebounded Chinese Taipei 57-37 for the contest, including 24-7 on the offensive glass. AIA also hit their first 13 free throws and finished 13-14 on the night. Former New Mexico Lobo Troy DeVries recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Texas A&M guard Josh Carter also had a double-double as he poured in 19 points and grabbed 14 boards. New Mexico junior Tony Danridge finished with 12 points while Dominique Kirk and Luke Zeller each added 9. Zeller also pulled in 12 rebounds.
“The USA played very well inside and outside,” said Taiwan head coach Yun-Kung Lee. “We got a lot done inside, and we will make some adjustments in our program based on what we learned in the Jones Cup.”
AIA head coach Mike Jarvis added, “I am grateful we won tonight. Our rebounding was the difference in allowing us to get second and sometimes fourth chance shots.”
Athletes in Action will return to the U.S. on Thursday and will bring the hardware home in their first ever trip to the Jones Cup.
Danridge also had an impressive outing in the semifinals. He scored 17 points and 11 rebounds in an 88-74 win over Korea. It was his second double-double of the tournament.