The Brown men’s hoop team is currently enjoying a summer trip to France and Belgium, where it’s 1-1 entering a game tonight in Monte Carlo against a team from Monaco.

Brown posted a 73-67 triumph over the Vanves Professional Team in Paris to start the trip. The Bears were led by the backcourt duo of Adrian Williams (20 points) and Steve Gruber (14 points, 11 assists) and forward Peter Sullivan (20 points). Two days later in Lyon, Brown fell to Ouest Lyonnaise, 67-58. Williams led the team in scoring again with 15 points.

The trip is allowing new Brown coach Jesse Agel a chance to put his own imprint on his first team. He’s already done well on the recruiting trail, in large part because of the summer hiring of Lamar Barrett to his staff. A former assistant coach at Central Connecticut State and the University of New Haven, Barrett ran the Hoop Group Elite camp and became close to many of the best high school players in the East. Two highly thought-of Ivy targets, 6-7 Tucker Halpern and 6-7 Andrew McCarthy, have committed to the Bears.

Halpern attends Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Mass., while McCarthy will team with Smithfield’s Mike Marra (headed to Louisville) and Barrington’s Matt Brown (a junior guard drawing Big East-level interest) at Northfield-Mount Hermon this year.

-KEVIN McNAMARA