Bucknell University Athletics
Cohen Helps U.S. Men Take Gold at Maccabiah Games
7/23/2009 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 23, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell guard Bryan Cohen and his American teammates earned a gold medal at the 18th Maccabiah Games in Israel on Tuesday night. The United States team, coached by Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl, bested defending champion Israel 95-86 in overtime to capture the gold medal.
The U.S. posted a 5-1 record at the event, which is also known as the "Jewish Olympics." In pool play, the Americans opened with a resounding 112-13 victory over Mexico, then defeated France 135-77. On Sunday, Russia scored at the buzzer to hand the U.S. a 73-71 loss, but the Americans bounced back to defeat Argentina 97-89 to earn a spot in the medal round.
In the semifinals, the U.S. routed Canada 123-76, then in Tuesday's gold-medal game against an Israeli squad made up primarily of professionals who will remain together in an attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, the U.S. rallied to force overtime and won 95-86.
Accounts of the games mention Cohen scoring in double figures in at least four of the games. He scored a team-high 18 points against Russia and also had 17 against Canada, 12 against Mexico and 10 against France. Dan Grunfeld, a former All-Pac 10 player at Stanford, scored 25 in the gold-medal game and was named tournament MVP.
Cohen started all 30 games as a freshman for Bucknell last season and earned a spot on the Patriot League All-Rookie Team. He averaged 11.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Gold Medal Game Recaps:
Jerusalem Post
Haaretz.com
