Blake And USA Pull Away From Panama, 105-81
7/20/2000 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 20, 2000
USA Basketball Game Story and Box Score
RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil -- With the help of a second half offensive burst from Drew Gooden (Kansas / Richmond, Calif.), who scored 15 points in a six minute span, the 2000 USA World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team (2-0) managed to pull away from Panama (0-2) and earn a 105-81 victory on Thursday night in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. The U.S. will close out prelinimary round play at the 2000 Confederation of Pan American Basketball Associations (COPABA) World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Tournament against Argentina (2-0), which is also undefeated following a 68-54 win over Uruguay (0-2), in a 7:30 p.m. (local) contest on July 21.
Maryland's Steve Blake scored five points in the game, coming off the bench for a second straight game to contribute 15 minutes. Blake added two steals and hit a 3-pointer for the second straight game.
"We played so well in the first game that I think we thought it was going to be easy," said USA and Syracuse University (N.Y.) head coach Jim Boeheim. "But it's not easy in these tournaments. Panama came out, took it right to us and we were in a ballgame for about 30 minutes. We finally turned it up a notch and played well in the last 10 minutes. This is what happens in these tournamnets, you play real well in one game, then in the next game you don't bring your `A' game and the other team can play with you. When we had to make plays in the second half, Jason Williams (Duke / Plainfield, N.J.) and Drew Gooden really stepped up big. They made some huge shots when we needed them. Offensively we're playing well, but defensively we need to do a better job to win this tournament."
In a game that was closer than the score would indicate, Panama won the opening tip and scored a layup in the game's opening seconds. Despite the fact that it would be Panama's only lead, the United States was unable to shake the Central Americans. The U.S. made a 13-3 run to jump-start its offense, going up 13-5 at 15:46 and by the 12:30 mark, held a 20-11 advantage. However, each time the USA took off on a run, the Panamanians managed to put together a scoring run of its own and with 4:24 to go in the first half, Panama remained close, 34-33. Michigan State University's Jason Richardson (Saginaw, Mich.) knocked down a three-pointer, followed by a jumper to give the U.S. a six-point, 39-33, lead with 3:22 remaining and the United States closed the half with a 49-40 edge.
Behind the scoring of four different players, the United States earned a 12-point buffer early in the second half, 57-45, at 16:43. At 10:25, with the USA in the lead 71-58, Gooden scored seven consecutive points, sparking a 10-2 run which ended at 8:39 with the United States holding a comfortable 81-60 upper hand. However, Panama took off on an 11-0 run and pulled back to within 10 points, 81-71, at 6:57. It would be Panama's final burst of the game as Gooden scored eight points and Duke University's Mike Dunleavy (Lake Oswego, Ore.) was credited with two steals and two points in a 10-3 North American run which ended at 4:10 with the United States in control 91-74. The U.S. continued to pull away and closed with the 105-81 victory.
"I think the team and the coaching staff motivated me and got me going in the second half," said Gooden. "Everybody was supporting me even though I had a slow start in the first half and I had a slow start in yesterday's game. I think this was my coming out game and I was able to show I could play. I think we took Panama for granted, we're Americans, we always think we're the best. But we can't do that. Every team out here is good and everybody is coming at us, they're going to give us their all. So we just have to be prepared to fight back. Instead of digging ourselves into a hole and thinking we can easily climb back out, we've got to get them out of the way early."
Williams was the USA's leading scorer for the second night in a row, recording 21 points, while shooting an incredible 5-of-6 from three-point. Also aiding in the U.S. effort was Gooden, who checked in for 17 points, Richardson finished with 16, and Dunleavy and Kenny Satterfield (Cincinnati / Bronx, N.Y.), who scored the USA's 100th point for the second straight game, each notched 11 points. Nick Collison (Kansas / Iowa Falls, Iowa) grabbed a team high 10 points to go with his three points and Williams passed off for a game high six assists.
The United States shot 46.2 percent (36-78 FGs) from the field, while limiting its opponents to 39.1 percent (27-69 FGs) and out rebounded Panama by one, 39-38. The U.S. had 16 steals and just 11 turnovers, while forcing Panama into 16 turnovers. The U.S. was whistled for 30 fouls, sending Panama to the line for 24 points in 38 tries.
"Tomorrow night we will play the best team here, Argentina" added Boeheim. "They have a tremendous team. If we play like we did tonight, we will be in serious trouble against Argentina."
University of Arkansas standout Joe Johnson (Little Rock, Ark.) sprained his left ankle in the USA's July 18 practice and is listed as day-to-day.
Rounding out Boeheim's coaching staff are recently named University of Houston (Texas) head coach Ray McCallum and Hofstra University (N.Y.) head coach Jay Wright.
The U.S. will close preliminary round pool play against Argentina on July 21 at 7:30 p.m. In Group A action the Dominican Republic (2-0) defeated Puerto Rico (0-2) 99-77, while Brazil (1-0) will take on Canada (0-1) tonight at 8:30 p.m. (local). The top two teams in each pool will advance to the medal semifinals, slated for July 22, and the gold medal will be contested on July 23. The top three teams from the Americas Zone Qualifying Tournament will earn a berth to the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men, which will be held in Japan.
