Game 4: USA vs. Canada
Words. Aron Phillips
In the battle of the border, the 2K Sports Preseason All-American Team needed this win. And with Toronto natives Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph playing with the Americans, it made the game that much interesting.
The starters tonight were Joseph (PG), Trae Golden (SG), Jason Morris (SF), Joshua Hairston (PF) and Thompson (C). Getting things rolling early, Hairston threw down a nasty dunk, got fouled and had a nice little stare down afterwards.
Pushing the tempo on defense, you could tell that we really wanted to get after it, jumping to trap the first pass. This is exactly the energy we needed. On offense, Canada figured the best way to slow us down was by playing zone, but with our shooters and ball movement, that did little to nothing. Between a three from Joseph (17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 1 block) and a refined pull-up on the baseline from Hairston (8 points), things were looking good.
Jordan McRae comes in, and what has become routine now, knocks down back-to-back threes to push the lead to 27-14. Josh Selby, who is probably the team’s most dangerous scorer, was getting his assist game on when he gave it up to Thompson for the alley oop. In the second quarter, after another three from McRae (17 points, 4 rebounds), the lead was 35-17. At this point, it was all about maintaining the lead and continuing to keep the foot on the gas pedal. Morris (5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) was doing his part in the paint, knocking a shot from Canada out of play.
At halftime, the lead was 52-32 and the team came out with the same intensity in the second half. Winning big or not winning at all, everything started on defense. Holding Canada to only 32 points in 20 minutes, it was a combination of lockdown one-on-one defense and great help D on the weakside.
There was just a completely different body language today. Guys jumping off the bench to cheer on their guys. During timeouts, rushing out for high fives to rally the troops. With a 66-34 lead with 6:16 left in the third quarter, to lose would be outlandish.
While Joseph was having an amazing all-around game, Hairston was playing as if he was the landlord - because he owns the block. Throw in an alley oop from Morris to Thompson (10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals) and it was as if the team could do no wrong. Jared Sullinger continued his impressive play with an NBA-style jumper on one end, and taking a charge on the other in consecutive plays.
To start the fourth quarter, it was the Jordan McRae Show starring Jordan McRae. After catching an alley oop on perfect execution on the quarter’s first play, he got a great rebound and put back on the next and a block on the one after that. Sullinger (16 points, 13 rebounds) continued doing work with a turnaround J showing off his range, while a little run by Canada cut the lead to 84-66 with six minutes to play. But nothing they could do could stop the 2K Sports Preseason All-American Team from getting their first win.
is there a site that shows the complete rosters and results?