by David Cassilo / @dcassilo
The United States U19 team had a disappointing early exit of the World Championships as it fell to Russia 79-74 in the quarterfinals.
The 5-point defeat was largely a result of the United States’ poor 3-point shooting. The team missed all nine of its attempts from beyond the arc while Russia went 12-for-19. Team USA’s coach Paul Hewitt pointed directly at the long-range shooting disparity for why his team fell.
From USABasketball.com:
“We went 0-for-9, they went 12-for-29,” Hewitt said. “That’s a pretty tough margin to overcome. I think given the difference there, I thought our guys battled and gave us a chance even though we were outshot from the 3-point line 12 to zip.”
Three USA players tallied double-figures in defeat. Jeremy Lamb (UConn) finished with a game-high 21 points, while Joe Jackson (Memphis) and Meyers Leonard (Illinois) had 14 and 13, respectively.
Lamb was the entire offense for stretches of the game. After Team USA trailed by 10 at halftime, Lamb scored the first 10 points for his team in the third quarter. His effort, though, was not enough to complete the comeback.
With the gold medal now out of sight for Team USA, it heads to the consolation semifinal bracket where it will play Poland. The highest the winner can finish is fifth place.
