USA U-18 Drops Canada in FIBA Americas Semifinal
Behind a barrage of 3s, the USA U-18 National Team earned a berth in the Gold Medal game with its 122-89 victory of Canada Tuesday night. Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers, lead the charge with a game-high 35 points, sinking 9-of-12 shots from behind the arc in 22 minutes. Incoming Duke Blue Devil, Kyrie Irving hit Rivers numerous times on the wing, tallying 7 assists to go along with his 12 points. Tony Mitchell, who is headed to Missouri, chipped in with 13 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.
Rivers was a perfect 5-5 from behind the arc in the 1st Quarter en route to pushing the US ahead 37-10. His hot shooting continued into the 2nd Quarter when he knocked down his next four straight 3s as well. Team USA’s 14 total 3 point field goals were a team record.
Canada was paced by Texas-commit, Myck Kabongo who had 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He also had 7 rebounds and 9 assists for the Canadian squad.
The US will play Brazil in the FIBA Americas finals.
By Staff Writer Chris Andrews - 7-1-10
