U.S. captures gold at FIBA Worlds; Gordon named MVP
Aaron Gordon helped Team USA capture its third gold medal in the last 25 years at the FIBA U19 World Championships.
Gordon was named the tournament's most valuable player Sunday, as the Americans pulled away from Serbia in the second half of an 82-68 victory at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
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Leading 40-38 at halftime, the U.S. outscored Serbia by 12 in the second half - including 25-17 in the fourth quarter. Serbia pulled within four early in the final quarter, but Team USA used a 19-5 run to take its largest lead of the game, capped by Montrezl Harrell's basket with 3:52 to play.
Harrell, who added four blocks, finished with a team-high 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting to lead four double-figure scorers for the U.S., which shot 50.7 percent from the field. Washington-bound Nigel Williams-Goss chipped in 15, Rasheed Sulaimon scored 12 and Marcus Smart dropped in 11.
Jovan Novak paced Serbia with a game-high 21 points, but it was not enough to avoid just its second loss of the tournament - both to the U.S.
Gordon, who finished with six points and six rebounds, was also named to the all-tournament team along with fellow American reserve Jahlil Okafor. Gordon was the top all-around player for the U.S., leading the team in scoring (12.5 points) and rebounding (6.2 boards).
Okafor, meanwhile, made all three of his shots to finish at a tournament-best 77.2 percent from the field.
1" align="left" />Click Here to view this Link.Tracy McDannald
GOAZCATS.com Senior Editor