July 7, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Sophomore Austin Wiley's double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds led the United States to a hard-fought 81-59 victory over Germany in the FIBA U19 World Cup quarterfinals in Cario, Egypt at the Cairo Stadium on Friday.
With the USA holding a slim 33-31 halftime lead, Wiley took over as he totaled 13 points and seven rebounds in the second half. The Americans outscored the Germans 23-10 in the third quarter to take a 56-41 lead.
Wiley, the team's captain, dominated by shooting 9-of-15 from the floor, making his only free throw attempt and had a steal. Half of his 10 rebounds were on the offensive glass while playing 22 minutes. The Hoover, Ala., native had by far the highest efficiency rating in the game at 25.
"It was just a real physical game," said Wiley. "We all wanted to make it to the semifinals. Germany came out playing their best, and we came out a little slow, but we got it together and continued to play hard.
"I was just doing whatever I thought we needed from me to win the game - whatever coach Cal (USA U19 head coach John Calipari) and my teammates needed me to do."
USA led 19-13 after the first quarter, but was outscored 18-14 in the second.
"There really wasn't a difference," said Wiley in the mindset in the first and second halves. "We came with the same mentality. We kept pressuring and pressuring them, and eventually they folded, so that was good from us."
Wiley is the only American averaging a double-double with 10.2 points and 10.2 rebounds in a mere 17.8 minutes per game while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 62 percent from the foul line. A 40-minute average would be 22.7 points and 22.7 rebounds per contest. He is one of seven players averaging a double-double in the tournament.
"I thought Austin rebounded and got baskets and did his usual thing," said Calipari.
The United States shot 45 percent from the field, only 5-of-18 (.278) from 3-point range and 8-of-16 from the foul line. The Americans had a 44-37 rebound advantage.
The United States improved to 5-0 while Germany fell to 3-2. USA plays Canada, a 73-67 winner over France, in the FIBA U19 World Cup semifinals on Saturday at a time to be determined. The game will be streamed live at ESPN3.com, Watch ESPN and FIBA.com. Italy plays Spain in the other semifinal.
Canada (4-1) went 2-1 in group play defeating Mali 91-42 and Japan 100-75 while losing to Spain 78-73. The Canadians beat Angola 87-65 in the round of 16. Mali and Angola are the two common opponents between USA and Canada as the Americans defeated Mali 117-69 and Angola 109-68.
The gold and bronze medal games are on Sunday.
To watch the USA-Germany game again, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqVlDc_N7gA.
To watch the USA-Mali game again, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odtaJWqcNuY.
To watch the USA-Italy game again, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx1o_pBazFY.
To watch the USA-Angola game again, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-mtNxq_N1Q.
To watch the USA-Iran game again, go to http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017/0107/Iran-USA.
Wiley is vying for his second-straight gold in as many summers as he averaged 8.0 points and a team second-best 6.4 rebounds for Team USA's gold medal winner at the FIBA Men's U17 World Championship in Zaragoza, Spain in 2016.
The United States is looking for its third-straight gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup after winning over Serbia in 2013 in Prague, Czech Republic and defeating Croatia in 2015 in Heraklion, Greece.
For additional information, go to usab.com and http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017