The United States men's basketball team's gold-medal drought at the Pan American Games continued Friday night in Toronto with a 111-108 semifinal loss to host Canada.
The Americans, who were playing in their second straight Pan Ams semifinal, failed to secure an opportunity to win their first title in the event since 1983.
Bobby Brown, who led the U.S. with 14.7 points per game entering the matchup against Canada, had a team-high 25 points.
"It was a gold-medal effort by both teams. It was a heck of a ball game," Team USA coach Mark Few said. "I am really proud of our guys for how they competed in basically a road game. It was like a road environment at a big-time college rivalry. I am proud of them. There were a lot of great performances. You got to tip your hat to Canada; they made some big plays and hit some big shots. They made basically one more big play than we did in the end."
Canada led 52-47 at the half, but the U.S. climbed back in the fourth quarter. However, Canada's Jamal Murray scored eight points in the closing minutes to seal the final berth for the host country.
Murray, a 6-foot-4 guard, is committed to play at Kentucky in 2015-16. He drew praise from Wildcats coach John Calipari afterward.
Couldn't be more proud of @BeMore27. For someone his age to do what he did shows how good he is and why we wanted him in the worst way.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 25, 2015The U.S. never had lost against Canada in the event, entering with a 5-0 all-time record.
"I thought our guys played with a lot of heart and a lot of passion," Canada coach Jay Triano said. "It's important for us to play in our home country, and our guys did just a great job of performing the whole night."
