August 24, 2003
Treviglio Basket defeated the Texas A&M men's basketball team, 82-70, here Sunday in the Aggies' final exhibition game in Italy.
The Aggies, who finished the tour with a 4-1 record, return to College Station on Monday night.
A&M, playing its third game in four days, trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half after standout sophomore Antoine Wright drew three quick fouls and was forced to the bench. The Aggies trailed, 41-30, at halftime.
A&M rallied in the third quarter behind Wright's 10-point scoring flurry and trimmed the lead to 53-50 at the end of the period on a short jumper by senior Kevin Turner. But Treviglio pulled away by making 13-of-16 free throws in the final period.
The Aggies were plagued by foul trouble throughout the game, finishing with 29 fouls while Treviglio was whistled just 18 times. A&M made 9-of-16 from the free throw line while the Italians made 22-of-31.
"It was a pretty physical game and we lost it at the foul line," A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "We had some good moments but Treviglio is a pretty good team. They probably are comparable to some of the CBA teams in the United States. And we really didn't have any legs left. We were a little bit tired coming in."
Wright led the Aggies, finishing with 19 points, while Turner added 14 and Jesse King scored 10 with 13 rebounds. Senior Andy Slocum scored eight points and pulled in a whopping 18 rebounds, while sophomore Luis Clemente added nine points and nine rebounds.
Luca Gamba led Treviglio with a game-high 21 points and Marco Guerci added 16.
"This tour was a very positive experience for our team," Watkins said. "The kids played some excellent basketball and had a lifetime experience in touring Italy. We accomplished a lot of our goals and that was the purpose of this trip."