Rebounding

U.S. picks up first win with 91-76 victory over China

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Posted: Tuesday July 21, 1998 12:28 AM

Khalid El-Amin (right) of the United States, takes the ball past defending Adiljan of China AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- With 7 1/2 minutes left against China on Monday night, the United States' chances of advancing to the semifinals of the Goodwill Games looked to be in great danger.

After an impressive late run that led to a 91-76 victory, the U.S. team was caught in a numbers game for moving on, but at least the chance was there.

"We need to get a win, no doubt about it," said Wally Szczerbiak of Miami of Ohio, who led the United States with 23 points. "We're starting to play together and we're getting better with every game and hopefully that will mean a win tomorrow."

On Tuesday, the United States, which blew a 19-point lead in an opening-game loss to Puerto Rico, will face Brazil (2-0). If the U.S. team wins and Puerto Rico, which lost to Brazil in overtime on Monday, beats China, it will come down to head-to-head competition among the teams tied with 2-1 records, then goal average, which comes from dividing points scored by points allowed.

"If we lost we knew we would have been out," said Duke's Elton Brand, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. "But this is a boost to our confidence. Yesterday we had lapses in the clutch. Today we showed we can elevate our games in the clutch."

The late run was keyed by Georgia Tech's Dion Glover and Szczerbiak.

China (0-2) did a great job of spreading its offense to take away the United States' speed advantage and the game was tied 66-66 with 7:44 to play.

That's when Glover, a sophomore guard, and Szczerbiak, a senior forward, took over, scoring all but two of the points in a 9-0 run over the next 21/2 minutes.

Glover scored on a drive, then Szczerbiak had a three-point play on a breakaway. Brand scored low and Glover capped the run with a breakaway dunk.

China's Li Xiaoyong hit a 3-pointer to break the run, but Szczerbiak answered with a 3 to make it 78-69 with 4:28 left. The U.S. team closed the game with a 13-7 run, Szczerbiak scoring seven of the points.

Khalid El-Amin of Connecticut had 14 points for the United States, while Glover finished with eight points, all in the final 11 minutes.

"Coach [Clem Haskins] gave me a little pep talk to keep going and make some plays and fortunately, I did," Glover said.

Zhang Jinsong led China with 22 points, all but four in the first half. China finished 27-of-28 from the free-throw line, making its first 25 attempts.

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