July 09, 2006
Texas A&M's Josh Carter and Dominique Kirk scored in double figures on Sunday to help Athletes In Action to a 93-89 victory against Korea on the second day of the William Jones Cup at the Taipei Physical Education College Gym.
AIA is 2-0 in the tournament and plays host Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) on Monday. Korea falls to 1-1.
Five AIA players scored in double figures, led by New Mexico's Tony Danridge, who scored 21 points. Carter added 14 points, Kirk and former New Mexico player Troy DeVries each scored 13, and UNM's Daniel Faris tallied 12. Notre Dame's Luke Zeller pulled down 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive boards, and Kirk dished out eight assists.
AIA went on an early 19-4 run to take an 11-point lead, but Korea rallied behind strong three-point shooting. Zeller drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the teams into halftime tied, 44-44.
AIA played smothering defense in the third quarter, creating multiple fast-break baskets that helped it take a 15-point lead into the final period. The lead ballooned to 18 points at 86-68 before Korea again warmed up from three-point range, pulling to within 91-87 in the final minute.
For the game, the Koreans made 15-of-45 three-pointers.
"Korea was in total control in the first half," AIA coach Mike Jarvis said. "When we started to exert ourselves on defense, we played better offense. Defense wins games."
AIA will face tournament host Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) on Monday.
Jones Cup Scores
Day 2 (Sunday)
Australia 87, Kazakhstan 86
USA 93, Korea 89
Qatar 102, Japan 81
Chinese Taipei 77, Philippines 72
Day 1 (Saturday)
USA 70, Australia 51
Qatar 68, Philippines 63
Korea 93, Kazakhstan 58
Chinese Taipei 113, Japan 70
Jones Cup Standings:
USA 2-0
Chinese Taipei 2-0
Qatar 2-0
Australia 1-1
Korea 1-1
Kazakhstan 0-2
Japan 0-2
Philippines 0-2