U.S. Olympic Festival Roundup : North Wins Men’s Basketball Gold

Terry Mills of Michigan scored 15 points as the North combined accurate outside shooting and a strong inside game to upset the South Wednesday night, 88-73, in the men’s U.S. Olympic Festival gold medal game played before 21,203 at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The South had won all three of its round-robin games, including a 75-66 victory over the North, which was 1-2 in round-robin games.

North Coach Bob Nichols, who has retired from his job at Toledo, was impressed with his team’s intensity.

“I kept telling the players that if you play hard and don’t get discouraged, good things are going to happen,” Nichols said.

The heavily favored South was was unable to stop the hot shooting of the North, which made 59.3% of its shots from the floor in the first half and shot 56.7% for the game.

“They played a whale of a game,” South Coach Eddie Sutton of Kentucky said. “They shot the ball extremely well.”

The South’s J.R. Reid, the North Carolina star who was playing on his home court at the Smith Center, had a game-high 18 points, including 12 free throws in 13 attempts. He said the South’s slow start was just too hard to overcome.

“We dug too big a hole in the first half and couldn’t get back,” he said.

In the women’s gold medal game, the West, led by the second-half play of Shameil Coleman of Cal State Long Beach and Rehema Stephens of Colorado, defeated the South, 68-53.

Coleman and Stephens sparked a 15-4 run in the second half that clinched the game for the West.

Pauline Jordan of Nevada Las Vegas paced the West with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“We were ready to play,” West Coach Debbie Ryan of Virginia said. “Our staff told the players just to keep this game in perspective, and not to get too hyped up or nervous about it.”

Both teams held six-point leads in the first half. The score was tied eight times in the second half, the last at 40-40 after a turnaround jumper by Washington’s Karen Deden with 11:03 left.

Then Brenetha Jackson made a layup and Jordan a follow shot, giving the West the lead for good.

“They’ve worked so hard,” Ryan said. “This win is really gratifying.”

In afternoon games, the West rallied to defeat the East, 91-86, in the men’s bronze medal game. In the women’s bronze medal game, the East beat the North, 77-63.

The North men, led by two-time Olympic champion Darrell Pace, and East women won gold medals in team archery.

Pace combined with Chad Connor of Kentwood, Mich., and Glenn Meyers of Fremont, Mich., for 931 points. That was 15 more than the West.

The East women defeated the West, 896-891.

Brian Arseneau of Arlington Heights, Ill., won the men’s 1,000-meter race after Randy Bartz, who had set a Festival record with a time of 1 minute 38.96 seconds in a heat, collided with Andy Gabel of Northbrook, Ill.

Tricia Stennes of Roseville set another Festival record as she won the women’s 1,000 in 1:47.25. Another Festival record was set by the East in the men’s 5,000-meter relay. The team of John Klein of Bay City, Mich., Pat Moore of Niles, Ill., Dave Pavlacic of Florissant, Mo., and John Albrecht of Roseville was timed in 7:57.68.