July 19, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. -- - The United States Men's Junior World Championship team advanced to the medal quarterfinals of the 1999 FIBA Men's Junior World Championships in Almada, Portugal over the weekend. The U.S. defeated Greece 92-87 on Saturday night and crushed Egypt 96-53 Sunday to finish 3-0 in preliminary pool play. The Americans will face Argentina on Monday in the first of three games in the medal quarterfinals.
Northwestern sophomore forward Steve Lepore (North Olmsted, Ohio/St. Edward) led the U.S. in scoring with 13 points against Egypt on 4-of-7 shooting, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
"It's great to go undefeated in pool play," said Lepore. "Sometimes it's tough, coming over here and having to adjust quickly. But it was important in tonight's game to play hard all the way through, especially when you have a big lead and you know the game's pretty much wrapped up at halftime. You just have to continue to play hard."
Lepore has started in all three games and played 35 minutes, the most of any U.S. player, against Greece on Saturday. He finished with 15 points, six boards and one assist in the narrow win against Greece.
Following the United States' contest against Argentina on Monday, it faces Brazil on July 20, and closes out medal quarterfinals play against Russia on July 21.
For complete stories of the U.S. Junior Team, log on to the USA Basketball website at www.usabasketball.com.