Panama Hands USA Loss at Pan American Games
7/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- Watching a 14 point second quarter lead evaporate, the USA Men’s Pan American Games Team (0-2) was handed its second setback in as many nights when Panama (1-1) outlasted the American 75-67 in preliminary round action Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U.S. will look for its first win when it closes out preliminary play Friday against 2-0 Argentina in a 6:45 p.m. (EDT) game. The U.S. loss combined with Argentina’s 71-69 win over Uruguay eliminated the USA’s chance of advancing to the medal round semifinals.
In Thursday’s other action, Argentina remained unbeaten after nipping Uruguay (1-1) 71-69, Brazil (2-0) handed the U.S. Virgin Islands (0-2) a 62-57 loss, while Puerto Rico (2-0) was all over Canada (0-2) winning 98-63.
"I'm proud of our guys. I think our guys are playing hard. I think we played two very good teams," remarked USA head coach Jay Wright. "Obviously, I'm disappointed in the outcome, but not in our performance. I think they're giving us everything they've got and I'm proud of their effort. We still have to play a little bit better, we've got to execute a little bit better, we've got to play defense little bit better, but we've got to keep working on that. It's not over yet
"I thought a key part in the game was the first half when (Jose) Lloreda went out with two fouls and we had a lead and we couldn't take advantage of him being out of the game. He was out of the game and they actually came back and tied it and he made a big play at the end of the first half. I thought that really sparked them going into the second half. Then I thought (Danilo) Pinnock in the second half just got it going, we had no answer for him in the second half."
The USA had some impressive first half scoring runs and they would need them after tallying just four points in the final 8:06 of the second quarter.
The U.S. trailed 5-4 early, then ripped off 10 straight points as Drew Neitzel(Michigan State/Grand Rapid, Mich.) scored eight during the run after connecting on a pair of threes.
Owning a 21-15 lead after the first 10 minutes, the United States opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run as Neitzel started things off with a jumper, then Shan Foster (Vanderbilt University / Kenner, La.) was on target with back-to-back 3-pointers to push the U.S. advantage 29-15 with 8:06 to play before half.
But then the U.S. offense suddenly went quiet and managed just a pair of field goals the rest of the quarter. Meanwhile, Panama posted a 16-4 run that was capped by Jose Lloreda’s driving layup at the buzzer that tied the game 33-33 at halftime.
The score at halftime could have been even worse for the U.S. had Panama had any kind of touch from the foul line. Panama made just 2-of-9 free throw attempts in the period.
The game remained tight in the third quarter as former George Washington University star Danilo Pinnock started to heat up for Panama, while Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert (Georgetown / Adelphi, Md.) was effective inside.
After Hibbert scored back-to-back baskets in the paint, the U.S. lagged behind Panama by just two,
42-40 with 5:30 left in quarter three.
As it did in the second quarter, Panama closed out the third period with a flurry, outscoring the U.S. 17-4 to take command 57-44 after three quarters of play.
Outscoring Panama 8-2 to start the final stanza, the Americans cut the deficit to 59-52 when Foster found the bottom of the net from beyond for arc for his third 3-pointer of the game.
However, Pinnock, who scored 11 points in the third period, nailed a deep three, then added two more three’s over the next 1:20 to help Panama balloon its lead to 68-55.
To its credit, the U.S. continued to battle and, thanks to shaky 1-of-7 free throw shooting by Panama in the final 1:18, the Americans kept chipping away but were unable to complete the comeback effort.
"We came out and started strong and we were playing them tough and then they went on that little run in the second half and we just kinda traded buckets coming down the stretch," said Neitzel. "We let Pinnock get hot and he kind of turned the game around. We've just got to keep growing as a team and try to improve."
Hibbert was a bright spot for the U.S. Scoring 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, the Hoyas big man also grabbed nine rebounds, and added two blocked shots and two steals. Neitzel finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, D.J. White (Indiana / Tuscaloosa, Ala.) had 12 points and eight rebounds, while Foster tossed in 10 points and added five rebounds.
"(Being here) means a lot because I get to wear USA across my chest. I've dreamed about that since I was a little kid, so I'm just going to have to try to pull a win. No matter what happens, in the end, we just have to keep our heads up and just keep playing."
Panama’s victorious effort was led by Pinnock’s 23 points (5-10 3pt FGs), and Dionisio Gomez and Jair Jamel Peralta scored 11 points each.
For a second consecutive night the U.S. ruled the boards, outrebounding Panama 45-36, with 16 of the 45 rebounds coming at the offensive end. However, the U.S. shot a miserable 37.1 percent from the field.
Wright is being assisted on the USA bench by University of Alabama head mentor Mark Gottfried and Yale University head coach James Jones.
