James McAdoo
Photo by Steven Maikoski/USA Basketball
The United States' meeting with China in Group A was expected to be one of the early highlights of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Hamburg, Germany.
Instead, the United States turned the showdown into its second laugher in three days, torching China 113-73 on Monday behind 26 points from James McAdoo and 20 from Bradley Beal.
The Red, White and Blue blitzed the lengthy Chinese team – featuring six players 6-foot-8 or taller – with a 29-14 first quarter. But China responded with a four-point advantage in the second and still had something to play for at halftime.
That hope was quickly extinguished, however, as the United States rolled with 66 second-half points to run away with a 40-point win.
"I liked the way we responded to China's effort after halftime," USA head coach Don Showalter said.
China turned the ball over 36 times, a number aided greatly by 27 American steals.
"The turnovers were one reason we lost the game," China head coach Bin Fan said. "We did not find a way to consistently deal with the press defense we faced."
For the third time in as many games at the World Championship, the United States received big contributions from multiple players.
Adonis Thomas of Melrose (Memphis, Tenn.) stepped up as the third scorer against China with 15 points. Michael Gilchrist of St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) and Tony Wroten Jr. of Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) added nine apiece. Quinn Cook of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) dished out 13 assists and Johnny O'Bryant of East Side (Cleveland, Miss.) posted fives in the scoring, rebounding and steals columns.
The United States is emerging as an overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal in Hamburg. With McAdoo (16.3 points per game) and Beal (15.6) leading the way, the USA is averaging 99 points per game and winning by an average of 24 points per outing.
Showalter's team will wrap up preliminary play over the next two days by facing Egypt on Tuesday and Serbia on Wednesday.
