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Cold Shooting Ends USA Mens Hopes for Gold as Brazil Wins 92-80

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (August 5, 2003) – Cold shooting relegated the USA Basketball Mens Pan American Games Team (2-2) to the bronze medal game as Brazil (4-0) went on a 13-0 tear at the end of the semfinals game to score a 92-80 victory in the J.P. Duarte Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Tuesday night.

The win pits Brazil against the Dominican Republic, which defeated Puerto Rico 79-65. The USA will face Puerto Rico for the bronze medal at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday.

“I think we played well for three and a half quarters, but we didn’t close it out,” said head coach Tom Izzo (Michigan State University). “We got what we deserved, and they got what they deserved. Turnovers down the stretch killed us.”

Leading 43-37 at halftime, the USA extended the margin to 11 with a 10-5 run to open the third quarter. The run was capped with a Chuck Hayes (Kentucky/Modesto, Calif.) transition layup that began on his own steal to make the score 53-42 with 6:34 showing. Shaking off its dismal first half 3-point shooting (1-of-13, .077 percent), Brazil answered the USA’s run by finding ways to get to the free throw line and outscoring the U.S. 22-10 to close out the quarter. Brazil earned its first lead of the night on a buzzer-beating layup for a 64-63 lead as the third quarter expired. Brazil was aided in its run by a pair of treys and by sinking all eight of its free throw attempts.

The USA took the lead back on a three-point play by Brandon Mouton (Texas/Lafayette, La.) for a 66-64 lead with 9:46 to go in the game. The teams traded scoring trips during the next five minutes as the USA continued to solve Brazil’s full-court press for close-in looks in transition. But the press was sapping the energy from the USA team members, and they held their last advantage when Hayes tipped in a miss by Arthur Johnson (Missouri/Detroit, Mich.) for a 76-74 lead with 4:18 remaining.

From there, the USA went cold and Brazil went on a tear, reeling off 13 unanswered points, eight of which came from the free throw line. Blake Stepp (Gonzaga/Eugene, Ore.) hit a free throw with 30 seconds to go and Josh Childress (Stanford/Los Angeles, Calif.) sank a 3-pointer with six seconds showing, but by then all that was left was deciding the final margin.

“We didn’t execute,” said Emeka Okafor (Connecticut/Houston, Texas), who led the USA with 18 points. “They made it very difficult down the stretch and we did not respond. Its tough, because we played so well, but you can have one bad quarter and lose the game. Now we have to focus on bringing home a medal.”

The USA’s scoring was supported by Hayes with 15 and Rickey Paulding (Missouri/Detroit, Mich.) with 11. Hayes added a game high 13 rebounds for the first USA double-double of the tournament. Andre Barrett (Seton Hall/Bronx, N.Y.) passed off for a game high five assists. Marcelo Machado led all scorers with 22 for Brazil, with Guilherme Giovannoni adding 19 and seven boards.

Forcing the Brazilians into 42.6 percent shooting for the night, including just 14.8 percent (4-27 3pt FGs) from 3-point, the Americans were done in by the foul line. The USA was whistled for 30 personal fouls which resulted in Brazil making 36-of-45 foul shots. Brazil was called for 18 fouls which saw the USA score on 11-of-13 charity tries. The USA shot 46.4 percent (32-69 FGs) overall, and 31.3 percent (5-16 3pt FGs) from 3-point. Brazil mananged just a one rebound advantage, 29-28, and the USA turned the ball over 16 times

USA Team Notes:

Team USA has met Brazil more than any other team and owns a 12-4 record against Brazil in the Pan Ams. The last meeting was a 96-78 win by Brazil to claim the gold medal in Winnipeg in 1999. The USA opened the series by reeling off 10 consecutive wins before the first loss, a 120-115 shootout for the gold medal in Indianapolis in 1987. That marked the first time that the USA had lost a goal medal game in the Pan American Games. The USA and Brazil have met in the gold medal game four times, with the USA holding a 3-1 edge in those games. The USA is now 82-10 in Pan American play, with four of those losses to Brazil, more than any other Pan Am country.

The USA has played for the bronze medal only once in Pan Am Games history, in 1991 in Havana, Cuba, when it played the host country and won 93-74. The only time the USA has not brought a medal home was in 1971, when it failed to reach the medal round.

If the USA faces the homestanding Dominican Republic in the bronze medal game, it can count on a packed house in every sense of the word. The prior two nights have seen the J.P. Duarte Center filled to overflowing, with every square inch of available space filled with raucous fans. Aisles were virtually impassable, and the crowd vocal, responding to their cheerleader, a native dressed in a head scarf and colorful matador garb and leading chants of Ole!

The USA has played the Pan American Games host country 10 times and has won eight of those. The two losses were the most recent both against Argentina in Mar del Plata in 1995, when the Americans lost 68-67 in pool play and 90-86 in the gold medal game. In games where the home team was the foe and a medal was on the line, the USA is 4-1.