U.S. thrashes Latvia in first round of U19 FIBA World Cup tournament

Mikinna Kerns/Iowa State Daily

Tyrese Haliburton was traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 8, less than two full seasons after being drafted 12th overall by Sacramento.

Jack Shover

The United States thrashed Latvia 116-66 in both teams’ first game of tournament play in the U19 FIBA World Cup.

The U.S. exploded offensively with their best shooting performance of the tournament to move past Latvia, as Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton had his first game in which he didn’t play the most minutes for the Americans.

Six U.S. players were in double-digit points by the conclusion of the game, with Trevion Williams as the team’s top performer. Williams had 17 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Ten of his rebounds came on the offensive glass, and he went to the free throw 10 times and knocked down nine of those shots.

Cade Cunningham also had a double-double with 11 points, 10 assists and three rebounds.

Haliburton played 17 minutes and finished with five points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. He shot 1-2 on two point shots and made his only three-point attempt and still leads the World Cup in assists per game with an average of 6.5. Lithuania’s Rokas Jokubaitis is in second place and trails Haliburton with an average of 5.8 assists a game.

Eight players played more than Haliburton in the game, which was the first time any U.S. player registered more minutes on the court than him.

The U.S. knocked down 41.4% of their threes against Latvia, which is a World Cup high for the team. Entering the game against Latvia, the U.S. was shooting 20.3% from three, which was the second worst mark at the World Cup.

While the U.S. shot the ball well, Latvia struggled to find the bottom of the net with only 34.8% of their shots going in and also committed 27 turnovers. The Americans scored 39 of their points off of Latvia’s turnovers.

The U.S. will face Russia in the quarter finals on Friday with the game being streamed on Youtube by FIBA.