Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • July 25-27, 2007

As the youngest team in the competition, the 2007 USA Men's Pan American Team took a little time to gel but avenged an earlier loss to close with three straight wins and a fifth-place finish in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mentored by Villanova head coach Jay Wright, the USA opened with an 81-72 setback against Uruguay on July 25.

D.J. White and Maarty Leunen headed the U.S. effort with 14 points apiece and added nine and seven rebounds, respectively, but Esteban Bastista, who also plays for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, was too much for the red, white and blue in the initial contest. Batista scored 25 points, including 14 in the first half.

In game two against Panama, Team USA raced off to a 14-5 lead after a 10-0 run, spurred by Drew Neitzel's eight points. The red, white and blue held a 29-15 advantage, but the motor suddenly stalled. For the next eight minutes until the end of the first half, the USA managed two field goals while Panama put up 16 points to even the score at 33-33 by intermission. Similarly, Panama closed the third quarter with a 17-4 run and held a 57-44 lead heading to the final frame. Shan Foster's third 3-ball of the game brought the U.S. within 59-52, but Panama's Danilo Pinnock drained a trio of 3pointers after that time to secure a 75-67 Panama win. Roy Hibbert scored 19 points in the USA setback.

On its way to the first of three consecutive triumphs, Team USA handed Argentina the first of three straight setbacks. White again came up big, scoring 22 points, including the first six points of the fourth quarter to break a 59-59 tie with the Argentines. Later, with a battle still on their hands and the score standing at 73-71 USA, Neitzel missed a jumper, but Joey Dorsey converted the first of two last-minute put-backs. White missed a jumper with 22 seconds remaining, but Dorsey was there again. Argentina fouled the Memphis big-man who hit the first of two free throws for the final 74-71 USA margin.

White's 22 points and 13 rebounds were plenty of power for a 84-58 USA defeat of the Virgin Islands, as the USA learned increasingly to rely on post play. White and Hibbert tallied 11 and seven points each by halftime and put up 24 points in the paint overall in Team USA's second-straight win.

Behind by as many as 13 points and playing for payback, the USA gutted out a 77-74 win over Panama to claim fifth place. Low led the way with 16 points while Foster and White recorded 14 points each. Exchanging runs throughout the game, Leunen, and the Americans mounted an 18-7 run to close the third quarter. Low took the reigns from there. The Washington State guard scored the first six points in the fourth quarter to push his team to a 60-56 lead. With the lead going back and forth, Panama took a 71-70 edge at 1:34 on the clock. Driving, Low cut into the hoop and made two field goals. The second was a 3-point play opportunity, but Low missed the free throw, giving Panama a chance to tie on a 3. This time Panama missed and was forced to foul White who made one of two foul shots for a 75-71 USA lead with 19.3 seconds left. With 11.4 ticks, Panama hit a long-range triple to trim the game to the tightest of margins, 75-74, and promptly fouled Leunen. Game on the line? No problem for Leunen who hit the pair of foul shots to extend the U.S. lead to 77-74.

2007 USA PAN AMERICAN MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM ROSTER

2007 USA PAN AMERICAN MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS