U.S. Fails to Win Medal in Basketball

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — In the first round, the U.S. played Puerto Rico tight down to the final buzzer.

In the medal round, the game got away early.

Puerto Rico went on a 14-0 run in the first half en route to defeating the U.S. men, 76-70, in the bronze-medal game at the Pan American Games on Wednesday night. This is the first time in 32 years the U.S. did not win a medal.

“It’s very disappointing having to go home without a medal,” said Connecticut’s Ben Gordon, who led the U.S. with 12 points.

Things fell apart in the second quarter when the Americans went scoreless for 4:27 and Puerto Rico opened a 23-point lead.

The U.S. had 23 turnovers, several of which the Puerto Ricans converted into easy fastbreak points in their big run.

The Puerto Ricans beat the U.S. on Monday, 86-85, when Andre Barrett’s shot at the horn rimmed out.

In women’s basketball, the U.S. routed the Dominican Republic, 109-54, to finish the preliminary round with a 4-1 record.

The Americans have won four consecutive games in the tournament since losing their opener to Cuba, and will play Brazil in the semifinals Friday.

The Americans beat Brazil in the round-robin portion of the tournament.

Laurie Koehn of Kansas State scored 23 points for the U.S.

In track, Lauryn Williams and Mickey Grimes gave the U.S. its first sweep in the 100-meter dashes since 1987.

Williams won the women’s race in a personal-best 11.12 seconds and Grimes won in 10.10.

Stephen Moore of the U.S. made up more than 68 points by winning the 1,500 meters in the final event of the decathlon, beating Luiggy Llanos of Puerto Rico, 7,809-7,704.