Team USA beat the Bahamas, 115-51, to win its second straight game at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina.
6-foot-10 Duke commit Mason Plumlee had a double-double of 14 points and 14 boards and North Carolina-bound forward Travis Wear was the leading scorer for the second straight game, scoring 15 points. Alabama freshman big man JaMychal Green tallied 13 points, Kansas freshman guard Travis Releford 11 and Villanova commit Maalik Wayns and UCLA frosh Malcolm Lee had 10 apiece. St. Anthony senior wing Dominic Cheek had 6 points on 3 of 7 shooting to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 turnovers.
“Our teamwork and our toughness was there from start to finish,” said USA and Davidson College head coach Bob McKillop. “We distributed the ball very well, we defended very well and the guys have really accepted the concept that defense wins championships.”
Next up for the USA is a date with Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
Meantime, 6-9 Rutgers freshman Greg Echenique put up 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with 15 rebounds and six blocks in a 94-76 loss to Puerto Rico. Think head coach Fred Hill isn’t excited about putting the St. Benedict’s big man on the floor with McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario of St. Anthony?
Read more USA quotes here. Get additional stories about the USA U18 team here:
**Wear, Walker Lead USA Over Venezuela; Echenique Misses Double-Double
**Dom Cheek and Kemba Walker make team, Lance Stephenson cut.
**Enigmatic Lance Making Headlines
**Cheek: ‘Villanova Showing the Most Love‘
**USA Cuts to 14 Players; Lance & Dom’s Lists
(Photo courtesy USA Basketball)
