MSU's Piotr Stelmach Helps Lead SCORE International To 4-0 Tour Mark
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University rising senior forward Piotr Stelmach averaged 9.3 points and a team-leading 12.3 rebounds per game this week in helping lead the SCORE International College All-Stars to a perfect 4-0 record during a week-long goodwill tour of the Dominican Republic.
A native of Kamien Pomorski, Poland, Stelmach totaled 37 points and 49 rebounds during the four-game tour, highlighted by single-game highs of 15 points against La Romana and 15 rebounds versus Hato Mayor - a pair of local professional teams. In Thursday's tour-ending 93-84 upset victory over the Dominican National Team, Stelmach had eight points and a team-most 14 boards.
Guided by Decatur (Ala.) Heritage Christian Academy head basketball coach Tommy Kyle, this year's eight-man SCORE International squad also consisted of SEC standouts Mike Mercer and Rashaad Singleton of Georgia, South Carolina's tandem of Zam Fredrick and Dominque Archie, and George Drake of Vanderbilt, along with Georgia State's Leonard Mendez and Aaron Johnson of New Mexico. In addition to playing four games in four days against Dominican Republic competition, the SCORE College All-Stars also made time during their goodwill tour to deliver food and supplies to local villages as well as visit with children at local orphanages.
Set to begin his senior season for coach Rick Stansbury's 2006-07 Bulldogs after averaging 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 27 appearances a year ago, Stelmach also gained valuable international experience last summer while previously competing for SCORE International during a goodwill tour of Germany.