July 22, 1999

ALMADA, Portugal - Behind USA point guard Keyon Dooling's (Missouri / Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 18 points and four steals, the 1999 USA Men's Junior World Championship Team (6-0) pulled away from Russia (4-2) in the second half to secure the 84-70 victory and a berth in the medal semifinals in Almada, Portugal, Wednesday night. With the win, the United States advances into the semifinals at the top of Group II with a 3-0 quarterfinals round record and faces Croatia (5-1), second place finishers in Group I, in Lisbon on Saturday, July 24, at 7:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. EDT). Competing in the second medal semifinal match up are Spain (5-1) and Argentina (3-3). The winners of the two semifinal games earn the right to play for the gold medal, while the losers will compete for the bronze medal on Sunday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (12:00 p.m. EDT), respectively.

"I'm really proud of the guys tonight," said USA and Arizona State University head coach Rob Evans. "In the second half they got after it defensively and made a lot of stops and got some easy baskets off of turnovers. We talked during the half that we had to step up our defense some because they had shot 50 percent on us in the first half and we're a better defensive team than that.

"Keyon Dooling really stepped up big tonight and played well, especially working their team on the defensive end of the floor. Steve Lepore (Northwestern / Lakewood, Ohio) played really well and Bobby Simmons (DePaul / Chicago, Ill.) came in and gave us a great lift off the bench. Steve Logan (Cincinnati / Cleveland, Ohio) came in and controlled some things, played really well and got some guys some good looks. But the key to tonight was our defense. Our defense was tremendous in the second half."

The United States opened up with two steals on Russia's first two possessions and went up 7-2 at 18:37. But the tide turned in Russia's favor as it reeled off nine straight points to take an 11-7 lead with 16:24 to go in the half. The game remained close and following two lead changes and two tied scores, the Russians were still in front, 27-24, at 7:48. On the USA's next trip down the court, Stanford University (Calif.) freshman-to-be Casey Jacobsen (Glendora H.S. / Glendora, Calif.) went inside for a layup, was fouled and completed the three-point play to knot the game at 27-27. After a Russian missed shot, Dooling scored the USA's next three points off of a jumper and a trip to the line to put the U.S. in front by three, 30-27, at 7:04 and the Americans retained its lead through the remainder of the period for a slim 43-40 halftime lead.

Russia took advantage of two U.S. turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half and pulled ahead 52-51 with 14:27 remaining. But a Chris Williams (Virginia / Birmingham, Ala.) three-pointer at 13:31 gave the United States the lead for good. Despite having the upper hand, the USA was unable to shake the pesky Russians and with 8:58 to go, held onto a slight 60-59 edge. But the Russians' medal hopes were soon dashed after University of Kansas freshman-to-be Nick Collison (Iowa Falls H.S. / Iowa Falls, Iowa) scored a layup at 7:32, which was followed by four straight USA three-pointers, two each from Dooling and Lepore, interrupted only by a Dooling trip to the line for a four-point play, and the United States was in command 75-59 with 4:33 to go in the game. During that span, the Americans notched two steals, forced Russia into two bad shots, and was perfect from the field. Russia was allowed only two field goals during the remainder of the game, earning seven of its final 11 points on six trips to the charity stripe, as the U.S. sailed in for the 84-70 quarterfinal victory.

"We were kind of down at the time (in the middle of the second half), and I just wanted to come in and give our team a spark," said Dooling, who made his first three at 5:58 from the left side and his second at 5:07 from the opposite side during the USA's second half run. "I wasn't expecting to come in offensively and help, I wanted to pick up the pressure defensively. But one thing led to another and I came up with those big plays. I just wanted to do whatever I could and we got some good stops and I was open and able to hit the shots."

Dooling's 18 points led three U.S. players in double digits as Logan checked in for 11 points and a game high four assists, and Michael Wright scored 10 points and a team high seven rebounds.

1999 Utah Jazz first round draft pick Andrei Kirilenko posted a game high 23 points in 37 minutes.

Despite having its lowest shooting output of the tournament, 45.9 percent (28-61 FGs), the United States closed the night with its highest shooting percentage through six games from beyond the arc with 43.8 percent (7-16 3pt FGs), while limiting Russia to 41.5 percent (22-53 FGs) of its shots from the field and 27.3 percent (3-11 3pt FGs) from three-point. Additionally, after allowing Russia to shoot 50 percent (13-26 FGs) in the first half, the USA's defense limited its opponents to a frigid 33.3 percent (9-27 FGs) in the second half. The Americans outrebounded the Russians by a 41-27 margin.

*** MEDIA NOTE ***

Media wishing to coordinate an interview with a member of the 1999 USA Men's Junior World Championship Team or a member of the USA coaching staff should contact Ben Fibbe at USA Basketball (719) 590-4800 or Caroline Williams at cwilliam@usabasketball.com or 011-351-1-291-0310 in Portugal

1999 FIBA Men's Junior World Championship