Aug. 22, 2001
SERRAVALLE, Republic of San Marino - A pair of free throws from former Stanford guard Arthur Lee with 4.9 seconds remaining lifted Basket Rimini to a 70-66 victory over the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday night.
Trailing 66-65, Villanova senior forward Brooks Sales was fouled and converted one of two free throws to knot matters at 66 with 20.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Rimini rebounded the missed free throw and put the ball in the hands of Lee, who finished with 25 points. Lee wound the clock down and drove into the lane where he was fouled by Wildcats sophomore Derrick Snowden. Lee sank both free throws and former Alabama guard Eric Washington stole the inbounds pass for Rimini to put the game away.
Villanova trailed by as many as 16 points in the third period before rallying behind the scoring of Snowden (14 points, five assists and zero turnovers), Gary Buchanan (17 points, four rebounds) and Reggie Bryant (12 points, eight rebounds). Senior center Brooks Sales posted his second double-double in a row with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
"It was a great effort against a good team on the road," said Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "I am very proud of the way our team played and represented Villanova University.
"This was just a great ballgame to watch. I consider us lucky to have experienced about every kind of lesson we could have on this trip."
Villanova completes the competitive portion of its journey with a 3-2 record. It moves on to Rome for sightseeing before returning to Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Wilcats were strong defensively, holding Rimini to .313 percent shooting from the floor. Villanova outrebounded Rimini 39-25, the fifth time it outrebounded the opposition here in Italy. Ricky Wright added eight points and nine rebounds for Villanova and Sales was an anchor inside.
"We want Brooks to be a leader and on this trip he acted like one both on and off the floor," said Jay Wright. "I just cannot express how much of a benefit this entire trip has been for the Villanova basketball family. We have gotten to spend time together and learned a lot."
