FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. COC-07-005
August 4, 2006
Basketball Coach Leads Team USA to Bronze Medal College of the Canyons men's basketball head coach Howard Fisher led Team USA Blue to a bronze medal in the recent Maccabi Australia International Games in Sydney, Australia, with a 86-51 win over Australia. This was Fisher's first appearance at the games as a head coach. "This was a great group of young men that I worked with and it made my experience that much better," said Fisher, one of two coaches for the two Team USAs. The Blue team won two early games in the opening round, beating Australia 85-68 and the Australia Development team 86-42. After two wins, the men competed against the other USA team and lost 95-72. A heartbreaking loss to Canada 75-61 placed the Blue team in the bronze medal game to face the hometown favorite Australia. USA came out strong, posting a 10-point lead to start the game, but Australia came back to take a one point lead 27-26 to end the first quarter. By halftime, USA was back on top 51-34 and cruised to a 86-51victory over Australia. The team consisted of the nation's top Jewish collegiate players including Bary Dunn (Carnegie Mellon), Andrew Ecker (Arizona State), Eli Hami (Yeshiva) and Alex Pribble (UC Berkeley). The team's bronze medal was one of 45 medals that USA teams won at the International games, which ran from July 2-10. The men spent one week training in California before heading to Australia. "I have never been to Australia and I have to say that the trip was amazing and I met some extraordinary people along the way," said Fisher. | 
