ST. PETERSBURG -- It was not the medal the Americans wanted, but the U.S. basketball team gained some consolation Thursday by beating Russia 80-71 Thursday for the bronze medal.


The victory provided a small measure of revenge for the American college players, who had lost 77-75 to Russia in the preliminary rounds and were beaten by Italy 81-72 in the semifinals Wednesday.


The United States led 41-34 at halftime and built the lead to 51-41 on a rebound dunk by Michael Finley of Wisconsin with 14:45 to play. But Finley's dunk pulled down the rim, snapping a coiled spring attached to the backboard.


The game was delayed by about 45 minutes while about a dozen maintenance men struggled to install a new rim. When play resumed, the Russians used a 19-8 run to take the lead 60-59 with seven minutes left.


But four straight three-pointers, including three by Shawn Respert of Michigan State, put the Americans back in command and they led the rest of the way.


Finley, starting in place of Lou Roe of Massachusetts, led the Americans with 24 points. Alan Henderson of Indiana added 17 and Respert had 11. Sergei Babkov led the Russians with 15 points.


Wednesday's loss to Italy marked another embarrassing defeat in international competition for American college players.


"I left the U.S. with a confident feeling we could win the gold medal," U.S. coach George Raveling said. "But Americans need to understand that there are other countries that are efficient at playing basketball besides the United States."


Since 1986, the only major international event won by a U.S. amateur team was the 1993 University Games. Pro basketball is another matter, with Dream Team II set to win the gold at next month's World Championships in Toronto, just as the original Dream Team triumphed at the 1992 Olympics.


"We know with the Dream Team we'd probably lose every time,'' said Paolo Conti, who scored 17 points to help guide Italy to its first victory over the United States since 1978.