Canada didn?t have Andrew Wiggins. It didn?t have Trey Lyles. Ultimately, it didn?t have a chance against the favored United States in the quarterfinals of the FIBA U19 World Championship, who advanced with a 109-67 victory Friday evening in Prague.
Although the U.S., as well, might have fielded an even more talented roster, the players who did make it to Prague have been sufficient to build the tournament?s only perfect record and advance the Americans into the semifinals.
They?ll play Lithuania in one semifinal Saturday at 2:15 p.m. ET, Serbia will face Australia in the other. The games will be broadcast over the Internet by ESPN3 and FIBA TV. The US has won all seven of its games and already beat both Serbia and Australia; the Serbia game was close, and Australia star Dante Exum was limited by an ankle injury.
The U.S. muscled its way past Canada with the heavy lifting being done by rugged point guard Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State and elite prospect Jahlil Okafor, a center from Chicago?s Whitney Young High.
Smart scored 14 points and grabbed three steals for the U.S. Okafor connected on all five of his shots, scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The U.S. also got 4-of-9 3-point shooting and 12 points from Florida guard Michael Frazier, who also contributed 6 rebounds.
With its pressure defense working and Canada unable to contain the U.S. man-to-man, the Americans surged to a 30-point first quarter and an early 8-point lead. The U.S. took a little while getting adjusted to a zone offense and endured a sluggish second-quarter following Canada?s defensive shift.
They scored only 23 in the second quarter as they attempted to fire the open 3-pointers the zone made available ? but mostly missed. If not for the solid play of Washington-bound point guard Nigel Williams-Goss?he finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists?and some missed free throws by Canada, it might have been an uncomfortably close game.
Shooting 4-of-16 from 3-point range at the break, the U.S. led just 53-38. Canada?s scheme appeared to be working perfectly. But the U.S. adjusted its approach on offense, declining those deep shots the Canadians were begging them to take and instead driving the ball into the gaps of the 2-3 zone. The rout was on.
The U.S. outscored Canada 31-12 in the third quarter and built an 80-54 lead, with Smart keying the surge with eight points, including two man-sized layups muscled through the heart of the Canadian defense.
Canada played without Lyles, a 6-9 power forward from Arsenal Technical High in Indianapolis. Lyles was averaging 19.5 points and 8.8 rebounds but could not play because of an injured ankle. Wiggins was expected to play in the tournament but passed to join his future Kansas teammates in Lawrence.
Canada had high-level college talent at the guard positions, but not sufficient depth to stand up against the U.S. Syracuse-bound Tyler Ennis (5-of-14, 11 points) and Florida State-bound Xavier Rathan-Mayes (5-of-16, 14 points) both had trouble making an impact. South Carolina-bound Duane Notice made all three of his shots and scored 8 points for Canada.
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