Men's basketball wins first game of Deaflympics

U.S. defeats China, 103-77

by Colin Whited on September 8, 2009

Before the United States Men’s Basketball Team took on China on Monday to begin its Deaflympic competition, head coach Keith Westhoelter had a message for his team. “Stay focused, and take it one step at a time.” In the U.S.’s first dose of competition at the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics, the Americans took that first step with success, beginning their stay in Taipei by handing the Chinese a 103-77 defeat. The final score, however, doesn’t indicate how close the game was until the fourth quarter, when the Americans outscored the Chinese, 26-13. The U.S. led China by only 11 at halftime, and by 13 at the end of the third quarter. The U.S. was able to stay ahead despite hot shooting by the Chinese. In the first three quarters, China shot eight of 12 from beyond the arc. In the final period, they made only two of 14, which allowed the U.S. to build a larger lead. By applying pressure against China throughout the game, the U.S. was able to tire out the Chinese squad, forcing them to take wayward shots and turn the ball over 29 times. They also out-rebounded China, 45 to 18. The turning point of the game occurred when Jon Mowl intercepted a Chinese pass and dished ahead to a fast-breaking Sekoe White, who threw down a ferocious dunk, prompting China to take a timeout. The swing of momentum was evident to Westhoelter, who exclaimed, “The game is ours!” Robert Haney led the U.S. with a superb all-around performance, posting a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He also had five steals. White scored a team-high 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Edlin Dorn added 20 points, going 10 of 11 from the field, and added eight rebounds. Bradley Miller tacked on 12 points. Mowl, who had 10 points, seven assists and five steals, said that he was glad the U.S. team got its first-game jitters out of the way. “Good teams always peak in the end,” he added. Despite the win, Westhoelter said there are things the U.S. needs to work on. “We need to simplify our transition game … and our chemistry isn’t there yet, but I’m glad we won,” Westhoelter said. “We’ll build on today’s victory.” “We’re never satisfied, but I believe we did the things we needed to do to win today,” crowd favorite Chi Ming Pun added. Pun scored eight points. Li Gang Zhang paced the Chinese by leading all scorers with 27 points. When asked what he thought of the game, the Chinese head coach said, “The Americans played well. This was a great opportunity for us to learn from them.” The U.S. next plays Israel at 7 p.m. Tuesday (7 a.m. EST).

(Photo by Bill Millios)

Men's basketball wins first game of Deaflympics

U.S. defeats China, 103-77

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