U.S. Swamps Poles 128-75 at World Basketball Games

The U.S. basketball team, led by Larry Johnson’s 21 points and 13 rebounds and helped by a strong bench, overwhelmed Poland 128-75 at the World University Games today.

The Americans finished the preliminary round of the 16-team competition 3-0 and will face Israel in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Israel lost to West Germany 85-71 but advanced to the quarterfinals as second in its group.

After a slow start that saw Poland take a 10-9 lead, the U.S. team went on a 20-2 run led by its reserves.

That gave the Americans a 29-12 edge. With their starting five returning to the floor, the Poles closed the gap to 42-35.

But the bench again helped the U.S. team take a 55-39 lead at halftime.

The Americans scored 18 of the first 20 points after halftime and cruised home.

Johnson, a power forward from Odessa Junior College who will transfer to Nevada-Las Vegas in the fall, was the top U.S. scorer for the third time in as many games in the tournament.

Turkey, already eliminated from the quarterfinals, produced the first big upset of the basketball tournament, edging the Soviet Union 77-76.

Despite the loss, the Soviets, who finished 2-1 in their group, advanced to the quarterfinals. The Soviets had been expected to be the chief rival for the United States in the gold-medal game, but have been lackluster so far.

Yugoslavia, the defending champion, also struggled in beating Cuba 79-76, but joined the Americans and the West Germans in the quarterfinals as the third team with a 3-0 record. Cuba also advanced.