USA Remains Unbeaten At U19 World Championship
Butler’s duo of Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward turned in
their best performances of the week to help the USA cruise past
Egypt, 112-55, in the final game of the first round of the FIBA U19
World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. The win gave the
USA a perfect 3-0 record for the first round of the 16-team
tournament.
Mack hit six of nine shots, including a pair of three-pointers,
and scored 14 points. He added four assists and two rebounds
for the U.S. squad, which jumped to a 22-point lead in the first
quarter. Hayward chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds,
five assists, four blocked shots and one steal.
Ashton Gibbs of Pittsburgh led seven U.S. players in
double-figures with 18 points. John Shurna of Northwestern
added 13 points, while Howard Thompkins of Georgia finished with
12. Klay Thompson of Washington State and Terrico White of
Mississippi both posted 11 points.
The U.S. led by 38 points at halftime and stretched that margin to
45 points after three quarters. It was the second time in
three games that the U.S. topped the century mark.
The victory gave the USA the No. 1 seed for Group B in the second
round, which begins on Monday, July 6. The top three teams
from each of the four groups (A, B, C, D) advance to the second
round.
