Boston College Athletics
Bell Nets Team-High 24 Points As USA Wins Gold
August 12, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Aug. 12, 2001
Boston College junior guard Troy Bell scored a team-high 24 points, including six three-point field goals, to lead Team USA to an 89-80 victory over Croatia in the gold-medal game of the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men in Saitama, Japan.
Bell's six three-point field goals established a USA single-game record. The Minneapolis, Minn. native shot 6-for-9 from three-point range. He shot 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the foul line. Bell also added three rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes.
The gold-medal finish was the USA's second in the FIBA event's three-time history. The USA won gold at the inaugural World Championship for Young Men in 1993 and finished fifth in 1997.
"Troy Bell really stepped up today. He kept us in there in the first half with the threes, then he made a couple of big ones to start off the second half. He had an exceptional game. Our guards were really just unbelievable and they had to be," USA head coach Jim Boeheim said.
Team USA trailed 26-22 after one quarter and by as many as 12 points (45-33) in the second quarter, before narrowing the deficit to 47-42 at haltime. The Americans outscored Croatia, 27-12, in the third quarter to gain control.
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Troy Bell on his experience with Team USA: "Representing the United States, and getting to meet all the guys and the coaching staff, was a lot of fun. It was also a lot of work. (Winning the gold medal) hasn't really sunk in, but when I get home and see all my family and friends and they let me know how big it was, it will certainly mean a lot to me."
