United States Comes Back to Beat Slovenia at U19 Men’s World Cup

25 June 2023

USA 77, SLO 72

The United States moved to 2-0 at the 2023 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup, beating Slovenia 77-72 on Sunday night in Debrecen, Hungary.

The USA will take on Lebanon (0-2) on Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET. All games are streamed on FIBA's YouTube channel.

The United States has won the competition eight times, including three of the last four competitions (2015, 2019 and 2021).

The USA-Slovenia box score is available here.

TEAM NOTES

Worth Noting: The United States improves to 3-0 all-time versus the Slovenians at the U19 World Cup. The win is the USA’s 17th straight at the competition.

Starting Out: The United States trotted out five new starters in its second game of the competition with Kylan Boswell, Cody Williams, Tre Johnson, Tobe Awaka and Asa Newell getting the start .

Strong on the Boards: For the second straight game, the U.S. won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Slovenians 48-41. The USA also led in second chance points, 14-10, and points in the paint, 52-32.

Depth Advantage: Once again, the U.S. outscored its opponent off the bench, topping the Slovenians 35-22. More importantly, after losing the first three quarters, the U.S. outscored Slovenia 25-11 in the final frame.

Points Aplenty: Eleven of 12 Americans scored in Sunday night’s win against Slovenia following all 12 players scoring in Saturday’s victory versus Madagascar. Four players were in double figures (Awaka-14, Eric Dailey Jr.-11, Johnson-11, Dylan Harper-10).

PLAYER NOTES

Awesome Awaka: Awaka led the U.S. in scoring and rebounds with 14 points and 11 rebounds to grab a double-double . The last U.S. double-double was in the 2021 edition of the U19 World Cup, with Chet Holmgren notching 17 points and 10 rebounds versus Korea.

Mr. Efficient: Johnson may be the seventh-youngest player in the tournament, but he’s also proving to be one of the most efficient. Johnson is tied for second in efficiency (45.0). He leads the tournament in PMPG (point differential of the score while player is on the court, per game).

Block Captain: Newell led the team with four blocks, including a pivotal swat midway through the fourth quarter in the midst of the USA’s 10-0 run.