USA Young Men Finish Strong To Take Croatia In Opener
8/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 3, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State sophomore Marcus Taylor (Lansing, Mich.) scored four points and dished out four assists as Team USA defeated Croatia, 88-69, in preliminary round play Friday at the FIBA World Championship for Young Men in Saitama, Japan. Next up for Team USA is a Saturday matchup with South Korea.
"I thought our defense was very good in the second half. We came out and got a couple of steals and really our defense took over in the game and that was the difference," said USA head coach Jim Boeheim. "Offensively we struggled a little bit, but we got enough in the basket. Our defense was the difference, we got our transition game going and got some easy baskets down on the other end.
"Carlos (Boozer) is a key guy for us inside. He's coming off a national championship year where he played a huge role in that championship for Duke. We're trying to get him to be aggressive, especially on the defensive end and I thought he did a tremendous job getting up and being aggressive. Both Carlos and Nick (Collison) were very good inside defensively and offensively as well," Boeheim added.
An 11-0 USA run at the start of the fourth quarter, in which Carlos Boozer (Duke/ Juneau, Alaska) collected seven points, spelled the end for Croatia which had played the USA tight through the first three quarters. With the Americans taking a 57-50 advantage into the fourth quarter, Nick Collison (Kansas / Iowa Falls, Iowa) and Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's / Chester, Pa.) scored the USA's first two baskets of the final period and Boozer finished off the run with seven straight points as the USA sprinted out to a 68-50 lead with 7:33 to play in the game. Croatia never again got closer than 15 points as the U.S. rolled along for the 88-69 win. The USA defense limited Croatia to just 12 points during the fourth quarter's first nine minutes.
The USA jumped out to an 8-2 lead behind four points from Collison, but Croatia kept it close and scored the first period's final four points to even the score at 18-18. Croatia led 24-20 with 7:20 left in the second quarter, and held a 30-28 advantage with 2:30 to play in the period. The USA regained control and the lead for good following an 8-0 run that was fueled by six points from Troy Bell (Boston College / Minneapolis, Minn.) as the U.S. moved out to a 36-30 lead. Croatia hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 36-33 at halftime.
Caron Butler (Connecticut / Racine, Wis.) scored the third quarter's first four points and the U.S. took a 42-33 lead following a basket by Boozer with 8:57 to play in the third quarter. Croatia rallied to close the gap to 50-44 with 3:28 to go in the third, and the score stood 57-50 in favor of the USA at the end of three quarters.
Despite making just 1-of-11 3-pointers, the USA still managed to shoot 54.5 percent (36-66 FGs) from the field, and held a slight edge on the glass outrebounding Croatia 36 to 35. Forcing Croatia into 19 turnovers, the USA recorded 10 steals in the win.
All 12 U.S. players scored, and in addition to Boozer's 18 points, the USA offense was aided by Bell who finished with 15 points, while Collison was credited with 12 and and Reggie Evans (Iowa / Pensacola, Fla.) finished with 10 points. Collison led the USA rebounding with six boards, while Boozer and Butler each cleared five. Butler and Nelson paced the USA's passing, compiling five assists each, while Taylor added four assists.
The FIBA World Championship For Young Men is being held August 3-12 in Saitama, Japan. Featuring 12 teams that are divided into two preliminary round pools consisting of six teams each, the United States is in Pool B with Argentina, Croatia, Israel, Japan and South Korea. The six teams comprising preliminary Pool A include Australia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Qatar, Slovenia and Spain.
The USA faces South Korea on Aug. 4, Argentina on Aug. 5, Japan on Aug. 7 and then concludes preliminary play against Israel on Aug. 8. Tournament quarterfinals play gets underway Aug. 10, with semifinals being conducted Aug. 11 and the medal games being held Aug. 12.
Held every four years and originally designed for men 22-years-old or younger, FIBA lowered the age eligibility to 21-years-old or younger in December 1998 and changed the competition name to the World Championship For Young Men. The U.S. captured gold in the inaugural competition which was held in 1993 in Spain and known as the FIBA 22 And Under World Championship, and in 1997 in Melbourne, Australia, finished fifth with a 6-2 record.
