U.S. Hoops Team Advances At World University Games
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Staff Report-
GWANGJU, South Korea – Wayne Selden hit a three-pointer to tie the game with 35 seconds left, then Perry Ellis hit 1 of 2 free throws with 12 seconds remaining as Team USA held off Serbia 66-65 to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the World University Games men’s basketball tournament early today. As both teams traded buckets and sets of free throws, Selden made an acrobatic layup, catching an errant lob pass from SMU senior guard Nic Moore and banking it off the glass for a 59-57 lead. After another stop — Serbia missed four straight shots after taking a seven-point lead — Winona Lake native Moore broke out of a 0-of-9 shooting slump to drill a three. “He’s not a good shooter, he’s a great shooter,” head coach Bill Self said of Moore to the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World’s Bobby Nightengale. “He just hasn’t made any shots in this building. He made shots in the other building...he’s got to be a threat and keep shooting.” USA is guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals, as the top seed from Pool D, with the victory. Serbia and Brazil both have one loss and will play each other on Thursday. “There was chatter that we had no chance,” Selden said. “We were baffled because we’re 3-0, just like them. We really wanted to go out and compete against these guys. That’s a really tough team. They’re grown men. We’re still getting there, you know. We’re still trying to get to their level of maturity. We really got stops down the stretch and made big buckets down the stretch.” Team USA will face Switzerland in their final pool-play game at 10 a.m. Thursday (9 p.m. Wednesday EDT). In the quarterfinals, they will play the second-seeded team from Pool C. USA vs. Chile With point differential being a tie-breaker to get out of pool play, Team USA ran up the score in a 106-41 win over Chile early Tuesday morning. Five seconds into the contest Moore hit a three. The Jayhawks opened the second quarter with a 12-2 run, highlighted by two more triples from Moore, who had 15 points and two steals in 25 minutes. Ellis and KU junior point guard Frank Mason III added three points each in the run. “Coach, and my teammates just telling me to keep shooting,” Moore said of his hot start after he was held scoreless when he fouled out in 10 minutes against Brazil on Sunday. “Telling me I was a good shooter, and they did a good job of finding me early. Just the encouragement of all of the guys. “That first one, when I see that goes down, I just know that I’m going to have a good night and just keep shooting. It showed up tonight.”
