MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — The United States of America’s U21 team won its third straight group game here Sunday night, downing Puerto Rico, 94-79, in the FIBA U21 World Championships.
The American team, which includes LSU sophomore forward Glen Davis, is now 3-0 going into a day off Monday in group competition which will resume for the USA team on Tuesday against Nigeria. The tournament runs through August 14.
Allan Ray led the USA team with 20 points, including a perfect five-of-five from three-point range as the American squad hit a total of 11 treys. The USA jumped out to double-digit lead after one period, but saw the Puerto Ricans cut the margin in the third quarter before the squad put the game away in the fourth 10-minute quarter.
Davis had four points, two rebounds and an assist in 11 minutes of play.
Josea Barea had 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds to lead Puerto Rico, now 1-2 in the group. Puerto Rican star Peter Ramos had just 12 points and five rebounds before fouling out after just 20 minutes as the U.S. big men were able to shut down the 7-3 center of the NBA’s Washington Wizards.
“It was pretty good,” Davis said of the big guys shutting down Peter Ramos. “We did our assignment, did what the coaches told us to do. We got in there, executed and played hard defense on him. He’s a big guy. But we completed our task and got the win.”
Davis, the SEC Freshman of the Year, feels good about the US team going into Monday’s day off.
“The sky is the limit on this team. We have a lot of talent here. We have to be consistent, stay humble, listen to the coaches and execute it on the court. If we do that, we can get through this thing undefeated.”