USA Edges Canada in FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup Semifinal
Three Purdue basketball players met in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup semifinals on Saturday in Riga, Latvia. Their teams boasted undefeated records ahead of the matchup, but only one side would move on to the finals.
Despite leading by as many as 20 points, the USA only managed to scrape by with a 92-86 victory. Boilermaker center Zach Edey recorded his fifth double-double of the tournament for Canada, yet it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
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The Canada team kept the game in close contention and even took the lead on a USA team that had yet to trail entering the contest. But their lead lasted for just 49 seconds.
The USA, which had four players score in double figures, was led by Louisiana Tech forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. He scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and was 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Lofton also notched a team-high seven rebounds.
Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, who has been the USA team's leading scoring during the event, played just under nine minutes against Canada. He finished the game with two points, two rebounds and one block.
Boilermaker teammate Caleb Furst managed four points and three rebounds for the USA in under seven minutes of action.
On the other side of the court, Purdue center Zach Edey had another strong performance to keep the team in position for a potential upset. He tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds in his fifth double-double in six games for the team.
Coupling Edey's performance with the team-high 23 points from Michigan forward Caleb Houston, Canada held the USA to its lowest margin of victory so far.
The USA moves on to the finals on Sunday, where it will face the winner of a matchup between France and Serbia. Canada drops down to play the loser for third place. The full schedule for all games can be found HERE.
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- USA MEN'S U19 TEAM DEFEATS SENEGAL: Purdue basketball's Jaden Ivey led the USA Men's U19 FIBA World Cup Team in scoring during an 88-58 win over Senegal on Friday. Teammate Caleb Furst recorded four points and two rebounds. CLICK HERE
- ZACH EDEY PUSHES CANADA PAST SPAIN: Purdue's Zach Edey recorded his fourth double-double for Canada in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. He put up 24 points and a team-high 15 rebounds in an 81-77 victory over Spain on Friday. CLICK HERE
- MYLES COLVIN COMMITS TO PURDUE: Myles Colvin, a rising junior basketball player from Heritage Christian High School, committed to coach Matt Painter and Boilermakers on Wednesday. He is the son of former Boilermaker football star Rosevelt Colvin. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.