Austin Rivers had 20 points to lead USA Basketball’s Junior National Select Team to a 92-80 win over the World Select Team at the Rose Garden over the weekend

PORTLAND (Nike Hoop Summit) – Austin Rivers had 20 points to lead USA Basketball’s Junior National Select Team to a 92-80 win over the World Select Team at the Rose Garden over the weekend.



The 8,955 in attendance witnessed history being made as Bismack Biyombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo registered the game’s first-ever triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.

However, that stellar performance by the 18-year-old wasn’t enough as cold shooting afflicted the world team. They shot 37.5 percent from the field for the game including a measly 14.3 percent in the first quarter.

The visitors won the battle on the boards, 41-39, but their shooting woes meant they couldn’t capitalise on their 23 offensive rebounds.

The USA, meanwhile, used their overall depth and talent to great effect, with Rivers well seconded by Anthony Davis (16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks) and 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship gold medalist Michael Gilchrist (16 points, five rebounds and five assists).

All 10 players got on the score sheet for the home team.

“I’m a big believer in having depth, and with this particular team you have quality depth,” said USA head coach Kevin Sutton. “Having a bench where you could rotate players in freely with very little to no drop off was part of our game plan.”

Rivers said that after a slow start, he and his team-mates figured each other out.

“It’s hard to get a rhythm,” Rivers said. “I thought we actually did great for having not ever played with each other. I started out a little bit slow, and then I knocked down a couple shots and after that I just kept going. My team-mates did a good job of finding me, and I just tried to get out in the open court because Anthony (Davis), (James) McAdoo and all of those guys were working so hard getting the rebounds.”

Biyomba had no regrets afterwards, saying the world team did all it could.

“I was trying to win,” said the 18-year-old, whose future is uncertain as he left his team of Fuenlabrada in Spain in order to play in the Nike Hoop Summit. His coach Salva Maldonado had warned him that the decision would cause him to lose his place in the squad.

“We came here, we’ve been practicing for four days. It’s really hard to play like we did. We tried our best on the court, but something happened.”
Poland’s Mateusz Potnika connected from long range for the opening points of the game and the World Team led 7-4 before Gilchrist went on a personal 7-0 run that put the USA in front and never trailed again.

Down 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, the international side got within 27-24 on a three-pointer by Canada‘s Kevin Pangos.

Rivers – the son of Boston Celtics head coach Glenn ‘Doc’ Rivers – answered right back with eight straight points to help the USA re-assert their firm grip on the game, taking a 42-31 lead at the break.

Davis had a dozen points in the third period to help the USA stretch that advantage to 50-36, but he then was headed to the bench after picking up his third foul.

The world team made the most of it, reeling off six unanswered points to trim the deficit back into single-digits.

But time and again the USA showed they had answers for every one of their opponents’ rally as James McAdoo and Quinn Cook provided a timely scoring punch that helped them head into the final frame with a 66-53 advantage.

The world team got within nine in the fourth quarter but there was little they could do as Rivers had eight points in the quarter alone and seven other USA players got on the scoreboard in that period.

McAdoo – a member of the All-Tournament Five in Hamburg last summer – gave the USA their largest lead, 86-66, from the free-throw line.

Potnika was the high-man for the world team, with 17 points. Canada’s Kyle Wiltjer – who resides in Portland – added 12.

The win saw the USA improve to 11-3 in the 14-game history of the event.

Read the original article at FIBA.com.