AARHUS, Denmark -- Former Bradley men's basketball star Lawrence Wright (Beale A.F.B., Calif./Wheatland H.S.) turned in a double-double with game-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds, leading KK Igokea Partizan into the second phase of the EuroCup international basketball tournament Tuesday.
In the home-and-home first phase, KK Igokea Partizan followed up its 68-62 home win versus the Bakken Bears with a 71-71 road tie Tuesday night. Based in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Partizan will face the Ukranian team Khimik Yuzhny in the next round of the EuroCup. The second round also will feature a home-and-home, aggregate scoring system with the first game Nov. 20 at Partizan.
In a game report posted online at www.fibaeurope.com Wright said, “It was very close. We managed to come out on top because we kept on playing hard and working as a team. We played very well in defense towards the end and that made the difference.
“I played the game at 100 percent and I'm happy that I could help my team tonight,” Wright added. “This is my first year in European basketball and I think I'm starting to get accustomed to the game over here.”
Wright, who helped Bradley to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 to cap his senior season, toured with the Harlem Globetrotters during the 2006-07 season, then signed with KK Igokea Partizan last month. Wright did not play in the opening game of the series versus Bakken, but he did not display any rust in the second round, knocking down 10-of-18 field goal attempts. He also collected seven of his team's 10 offensive rebounds, blocked two shos and added an assist and a steal in his 31 minutes.
In other news regarding former Braves playing around the world: Tony Bennett (Chicago, Ill./Westinghouse H.S.) continues to lead Finland's First Division in scoring at 37.7 points per game. Bennett's squad, Kaarinan Ura, is currently tied for eighth in the 14-team First Division standings with a 3-4 league record.
Another member of Bradley's 2006 Sweet 16 squad, Marcellus Sommerville (Peoria, Ill./Central H.S.) continues to excel in the French ProA division and is the second-leading scorer for his team Le Havre. While helping his team to an early 4-2 league record, Sommerville is averaging 14.0 points and is adding 6.3 rebounds per contest. The 6-foot-7 Sommerville leads the team in 3-point shooting, draining 15-of-36 (.417) attempts from behind the arc.
Now in his fourth year with TBB Trier in the German Bundesliga, James Gillingham (Guelph, Ontario/St. James Secondary) is averaging 15.4 points per game through the season's first seven games, including a team-high 29 points Oct. 31 in a 106-91 victory versus BG 74 G?ttingen.
In his rookie season playing for ENAD in Cyprus, Will Franklin (Houston, Texas/Alief Hastings H.S.) is tied for sixth in Division A in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
In all 13 former Braves are playing professional basketball around the world, including current NBA players Patrick O'Bryant (Golden State Warriors) and Anthony Parker (Toronto Raptors). Parker's Toronto (2-2) squad suffered its second straight loss Tuesday night at Milwaukee, 112-85, to fall one game behind Boston (2-0) in the early Atlantic Division standings. Following games tonight at home versus Orlando and Friday at Philadelphia, the Raptors will be visiting the Chicago Bulls Saturday night while the Braves are taking on Illinois-Chicago in the season-opener at UIC Pavilion.
