July 16, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern sophomore forward Steve Lepore (North Olmsted, Ohio/St. Edward) scored five points, on 2-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 from three-point range, in the United States 119-59 victory over China to open the 1999 FIBA Men's Junior World Championships in Almada, Portugal Thursday night.
Lepore started at the small forward spot and played 13 minutes in the rout. The Americans ran out to a 21-7 lead at 14:11 of the first half. They increased their lead to 71-20 at the half and at one point led 91-20 with 14:51 left in the second half. The U.S. (1-0) faces Greece (1-0) tonight at 9:30 p.m. (3:30 CDT) and closes out preliminary round pool play against Egypt on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (1:30 CDT). For a complete story of the U.S. win, log on to the USA Basketball website at www.usabasketball.com.