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6/12/05
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The USA White team captured gold at the 2005 International Sports Invitational, defeating USA Blue by a 107-85 final, despite a game-high 31 points by Blue's
O.J. Mayo (North College Hill H.S. / North College Hill, Ohio).
USA White was able to pull away in the second half, outscoring Blue 31-19 in the fourth quarter as foul trouble kept Blue big men, Robin Lopez (San Joaquin Memorial H.S./Fresno, Calif.),
Mike Washington (Heritage Christian Academy (Texas)/McGehee, Ark.) and
Dwayne Collins (Miami Senior H.S./Miami, Fla.) on the bench for much of the second half.
The two teams battled back and forth in the first quarter and the game was tied at 23 with 23 seconds left, after Mayo scored 15 out of 16 straight points for the USA Blue team. Two free throws by B
ryce Webster (St. Thomas Academy/St. Paul, Minn.) gave the White squad a slim 25-23 lead after one.
White pulled ahead by six points, 40-34 with 5:33 left in the half ,before Blue began a 7-2 run capped by a Mayo jumper at the 4:03 mark to cut the lead to one, 42-41. But, a cut above his right eye with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter forced Mayo to head into the locker room early. USA White capitalized, outscoring Blue 15-5 over the remainder of the quarter to take a 58-46 lead at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, the Blue squad inched closer, 76-66, after the third quarter. However, the fourth quarter belonged to USA White. With an 11-point cushion, 82-71 with 7:44 left in the game, White began a 15-3 run, that included five dunks by four different players and gave them a 97-74 lead, sealing the victory with 4:09 left in the game. From that point the teams exchanged buckets, and USA White walked away with a 107-85 victory.
"It was really exciting," said White head coach
Pat Fitterer (Eisenhower H.S./Seattle, Wash.). I'm most excited because we had 29 assists tonight, that was awesome. This is the most unselfish crew I've ever had. Greg Oden thanked everybody for letting him be a part of the team and everybody else was just awesome, they had a great team concept. I told them now I want them to go out and win a couple more gold medals for USA."
Three players scored in double figures for USA White, including 28 points (11-22 FGs) from
Paul Harris (Niagara Falls H.S./Niagara Falls, N.Y.). Center
Greg Oden (Lawrence North H.S. . Indianapolis, Ind.) and forward
Bill Walker (North College Hill H.S. / Cincinnati, Ohio), aided by the foul trouble of the Blue squad, chipped in 21 and 18, respectively, and Oden pulled down 11 rebounds. Five players also dished out at least five assists. Oden also broke the USA Youth Development Festival record for field-goal percentage, shooting 74.4 percent (32-43 FGs) in the tournament.
"This feels good," said Harris. "I told my dad, ‘If I win, I'm giving you the gold medal,' so I'm going to give it to my dad."
Mayo and
Wayne Ellington (The Episcopal Academy/Wynnewood, Penn.) shouldered the load for USA Blue. In addition to 31 points (11-24 FGs), Mayo also tallied six rebounds and seven steals. Ellington finished the game with 27 points (11-23 FGs) and a game-high 12 rebounds.
"I know O.J. (Mayo) is a good player so I tried to play full court on him and set a lot of picks." added Harris. " I tried to contain him but he's very good."
Mayo finished as the high-scorer for the tournament, averaging 27.5 points per game.
USA Blue Team member Thaddeus Young (Mitchell H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.) suffered a second degree (moderate) ankle sprain in his squad's 118-57 victory over New Zealand on June 8. Listed as day-to-day, Young was evaluated and treated by the U.S. Olympic Committee medical staff..
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