USA 146, China 62
View the USA-China box score here.
The USA (3-0) secured an unbeaten record in Group B at the 2024 FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup after a 146-62 victory over China on Tuesday in Istanbul. The 146 points by the U.S. set the FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup record for points in a game (Spain defeated United Arab Emirates 138-27 in 2014).
The entire field advances to the knockout stage of the competition, which begins Wednesday with the Round of 16.
TEAM NOTES
Top Spot: At 3-0, the Americans finished at the top of Group B. The final group standings in order of finish, including tiebreaker rules, goes France (1-2), China (1-2) and Guinea (1-2). The red, white and blue will face the fourth seed in Group A in the Round of 16, which could end up being Puerto Rico or Philippines.
My Gym: The U.S. had an average margin of victory of 60.7 points in the three group play games. Entering the 2024 edition of the FIBA U17 Men’s World, the USA had an average winning margin of 40.7 points over 44 games. In 2018, the Americans had their best margin (53.7) for a U17 competition en route to the gold medal.
Borrow or Rob?: Another American record was reset with 33 total steals against China. Ironically, the previous record of 29 was set against China in 2018. Of the 12 U.S. athletes to play in the game, 11 came away with a steal as Smith Jr. led the team with six.
Kayak: Head coach Sharman White’s starting five of Brandon McCoy Jr., JJ Mandaquit, AJ Dybantsa, Koa Peat and Cameron Boozer took the Americans down the river of success once again. The first five combined for 64 points, the second-best output thus far at the competition (68 vs. France, 58 vs. Guinea).
PLAYER NOTES
Racecar: In his best performance to date, Tyran Stokes shined for the USA. A few rebounds short of a triple-double off the bench, Stokes went out and scored 14 points to go with 10 assists and eight rebounds in 18 minutes. He also had two steals and two blocks to boot.
Not So, Boston: Also flirting with a triple-double on a game-by-game basis, Dybantsa had a solid 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes of action. He has scored 10-plus points in each game this competition.
Pull Up If I Pull Up: Buckets for everyone. The U.S. had nine athletes who scored in double figures as Jalen Haralson had a team-high 21 points. Other double-digit efforts came from Cameron Boozer (20 points), Caleb Holt (16), Stokes (14), Mandaquit (13), Dybantsa (11), Peat (11), Jaden Toombs (11) and Smith Jr. (10).
What's Next
A game recap will be published on usab.com.
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