Vth NIKE HOOP SUMMIT -- 1999

Tampa, Florida - March 28, 1999

Southern California prep standout Casey Jacobsen scored a USA Hoop Summit Team record 31 points and made a record 6-of-8 three-point field goals, to lead the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team to a 107-95 victory over the International Select Team in front of a capacity crowd of 3,432 and a national television audience on ESPN in the 5th Annual Hoop Summit at the University of Tampa's Martinez Center.

1999 USA Junior National Select Team

'I'm extremely excited about the win. We have a lot of talented kids on this team. A lot of talented high school All-Americans. Some didn't play as much as they wanted, that was a challenge for me as a coach,' said USA Basketball head coach Ron Carling. 'In three days time, these kids came together to play for their country rather than themselves. This is the thrill of my coaching lifetime. Coaching for my country and coaching such a fine group of young men.

'We got behind early and I kind of expected it. It took us about 10 minutes in the first half to realize how physical the game was going to be. After we were able to adjust to the physical nature of the world team, our players were able to adjust accordingly. They really settled down and applied themselves, playing tough man-to-man defense.'

Jacobsen, who starred last summer for the gold medal winning USA Basketball World Youth Games Team, hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the second half and break open the game for the U.S.

Outscoring the International Team 15-4 over the second half's first three minutes, following a Jacobsen layup with 17:02 to play, the U.S. had moved out ahead 66-55. The International Team fought back to within two, 68-66, with 13:55 left, but Jacobsen knocked down another three-pointer to return the momentum to the U.S. and the International Team never again got closer than five points.

'It's a great honor to represent the country. It's been a wonderful two weeks. The McDonald's week, and now the Hoop Summit week,' commented the 6-foot-6 Jacobsen. 'The players surrounding me were incredible. So many of these guys can do so many things. I just hung around the perimeter to get open and pick and choose my spots to shoot. They got me the ball on all my open spots.'

The U.S. led 12-10 early in the half following a three-point field goal by Jason Williams, but the International Team went on a 13-2 scoring run to take command 23-14 with 12:06 to play in the first half. Trailing 39-31, the United States rallied to even the score 41-41 after Nick Collison (Iowa Falls High School / Iowa Falls, Iowa) scored on a put-back of a missed shot, and after completition of the first half the two teams had played dead even, 51-51.

In addition to Jacobson's sterling play, the United States was aided to the win by guard Kevin Gaines, 20 points, while Williams added 14 points and a game high seven assists, and Travis Watson was credited with 13 points and a game best nine rebounds.