U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL ROUNDUP : Anderson Leads North to Men’s Basketball Gold

Derek Anderson, a sophomore guard at Ohio State, scored 20 points to lead the North to a 106-96 victory over the West on Wednesday in the gold-medal basketball game at the U.S. Olympic Festival.

In one of the scariest moments of the festival, Alex Rodriguez, the No. 1 overall draft pick in last month’s major league baseball draft, was struck in the face by a ball while in the dugout before his South team’s game against the North.

Rodriguez’s injury is not believed to be serious.

“This injury will have no effect on his ability to play baseball in the future, and this injury has no effect on his vision,” said Lawrence Magee, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s head physician.

Magee said Rodriguez, a shortstop drafted by the Seattle Mariners, will require minor cosmetic surgery to the right cheek and should be fully recovered in four to six weeks.

Bob Bensch, press officer for baseball, said Rodriguez was sitting in the dugout while the North team was taking infield practice. “A ball skipped over into the dugout and hit him in the side of the face,” he said.

In the basketball competition, the North won its second consecutive gold medal and posted its second consecutive 4-0 record in festival competition. The North went 4-0 in the last festival, in 1991 in Los Angeles.

Burt Harris, a sophomore guard at USC, had a game-high 21 points and seven assists for the West (2-2). Harris made five of seven three-pointers to tie the festival’s single-game record, set by Damon Bailey in 1990.

Harris had 12 three-point field goals during the four games of the festival, breaking Bailey’s record in the category by one.

“The festival is a tremendous boost to me as a player, and it means a lot to me as far as confidence,” Harris said.

Harris was selected to the festival’s all-tournament team along with the East’s Marcus Camby, a freshman at Massachusetts; the South’s Martice Moore, a sophomore at Georgia Tech; and the North’s Jacque Vaughn, a freshman at Kansas.

Anderson was selected most valuable player.

In the women’s title game, Donyale Canada of Texas A&M; had 14 points and five assists to lead the South to a 72-55 victory over the East.

The women’s softball gold medal went to the South, which beat the West, 2-1, behind Michele Granger’s one-hitter. Granger, of Placentia, struck out 12.