Pan Am Basketball: USA Loses To Mexico, Will Play For Bronze On Sunday
by Scott Schroeder on Oct 29, 2011 4:09 PM EDT
in 2011 Pan-Am Basketball News
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The 2011 Pan-Am Games was supposed to be the first time Team USA brought back a gold medal since Michael Jordan did it in 1983. That will not be the case, however, as Lorenzo Mata-Real and Mexico's national team picked up a 71-55 victory to advance to the gold medal game while sending the USA to play for Bronze.
Mexico certainly wasn't a team to overlook, as I wrote in the game preview, but it didn't seem as though that was the problem for head coach Nate Tibbetts and his crew of D-League players. Instead, their lack of chemistry and any sort of prolonged training camp seemed to do them in as their shooting couldn't overcome some sloppy play.
USA was led by Leo Lyons with 13 points, though eight of those came early in the game, while Jerome Dyson had 10 points and six turnovers. Blake Ahearn played well while he was in, scoring nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field.
Former UCLA fan-favorite Lorenzo Mata-Real scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds and swatted away four shots to lead Mexico while former D-League player Jovan Harris scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished four assists.
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Ugghhh
This game was really frustrating. Matta-Real did whatever he wanted under the hoop and Stiemsma looked a step behind him on every play. Mexico did a good job of making their cuts and finishing at the basket. I thought Mexico really bit hard on dribble penetration and that T-USA should have used it to their advantage to create better shot opportunities. I would have also liked to see T-USA get Ahearn more involved. A big dissapointment considering how the team played the first two games of the tournament.
Instead, their lack of chemistry and any sort of prolonged training camp seemed to do them in as their shooting couldn’t overcome some sloppy play.
I only saw about 15 minutes of game time in the 2nd game, but what you said here was clearly evident. Just way too sloppy. Winning in international tournaments really does require preparation, as we’ve seen with the renewed focus in Team USA under Coach K.
Go Suns, Packers, Jays, and Huskers!
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