Men’s Basketball: Gibbs, Team USA finish fifth at World University Games

Ashton Gibbs spent the summer teamed up with some of his Big East opponents as he competed in… Ashton Gibbs spent the summer teamed up with some of his Big East opponents as he competed in the World University Games in Shenzhen, China.

Gibbs, along with Syracuse’s Antonio “Scoop” Jardine and Notre Dame’s Tim Abromaitis, helped make up the 12-person United States World University Games men’s basketball team, which played in eight games from Aug. 12 through 23.

Held every other year, the World University Games — organized by the International University Sports Federation — are a multi-sport competition for men and women between the ages of 17 and 24. All athletes are college students or were college students within the past year.

The United States men’s basketball team earned a fifth-place finish in the games.

The United States was in Group D along with Finland, Mexico, Israel, South Korea and Hungary, who the U.S. faced in the preliminary round. Team USA finished at the top of Group D with a 5-0 record.

After the preliminary round, the first and second place teams from each group advanced to the medal quarterfinals to face off for first through eigth place, while the third and fourth place teams competed for ninth through 16th place. The fifth and sixth place teams battled for 17th through 23rd place.

Following the medal quarterfinals, the four winning teams from the first through eighth place games advanced to the semifinals, while the remaining teams played in classification games to determine their standings and opponents.

The United States lost in the quarterfinals to Lithuania, but defeated Romania in the classification game to earn a spot against Germany in the fifth/sixth place matchup.

Gibbs led the team in minutes played (21.8) and assists per game (2.3). Gibbs also scored 11.6 points per game, shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 95 percent from the free-throw line.

The United States’ journey in the World University Games started on Aug. 13 against Mexico.

USA 108, Mexico 67

Gibbs scored a game-high 20 points as Team USA won its opening game against Mexico.

Starting at guard, Gibbs went 7-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He led Team USA with three assists and also finished with two steals.

All 12 members of the U.S. team scored.

At the end of the first quarter, Mexico held a slim 24-22 advantage, but the United States came out strong in the second quarter to build a 43-37 lead at halftime.

After the break, Gibbs, UC Santa Barbara’s Orlando Johnson and Kentucky’s Darius Miller combined to stretch the lead to double digits, 49-37, within two minutes.

By the end of the third quarter, Team USA built a 74-53 lead. Five United States players scored in double figures, including Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe who finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Missouri’s Marcus Denmon put up 11 points, while Johnson and Michigan State’s Draymond Green both finished with 10 points.

USA 102, Hungary 53

In its second game, Team USA easily handled Hungary thanks to strong outside shooting and solid defense.

Gibbs came off the bench to score seven points in 15 minutes and led the team with four assists. Fellow Big East player Jardine scored 15 points and dished out three assists.

Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins set a U.S. Men’s World University Games record with six made 3-pointers. He finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Once again, every member of Team USA scored as the United States finished with 12 made 3-pointers and held Hungary to 34.5 percent shooting from the field.

USA 112, South Korea 68

In his second start, Gibbs scored 14 points and added four assists, leading Team USA to its third victory.

He went 6-of-9 from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range, and played a team-high 23 minutes.

South Korea stayed close during the first quarter, with the score 24-19 heading into the second. But after the first minute of the second quarter, the United States went on a 9-0 run to build a 35-23 advantage.

South Korea used strong 3-point shooting to stay relatively close, but the United States still managed to take a 55-42 advantage into halftime.

In the third period, Team USA used two scoring runs and strong defense that held South Korea to just four field goals to pull away and take an insurmountable 81-54 lead into the fourth quarter.

Alabama’s JaMychal Green scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Jardine scored 16 points and Mbakwe added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

USA 124, Finland 64

Team USA won its fourth game as Gibbs scored 13 points and dished out a game-high three assists.

Starting at point guard, Gibbs went 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line in 18 minutes.

In familiar fashion, Finland kept the game close through the first quarter, but Team USA pulled away to take a 63-38 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the United States put the game away for good as the Americans outscored Finland 37-13.

Five United States players reached double figures, including Green who led all players with 21 points. Finland struggled from the field, shooting 37.1 percent.

USA 94, Israel 84

In its first close game of the trip, Team USA used a strong performance on the boards to pull away from Israel and advance to the quarterfinals.

Israel led 43-41 at the break and the United States faced its first halftime deficit.

The team responded, pulling away in the third quarter by outscoring Israel 29-19 and putting together a 10-0 run that extended from the end of the third quarter to the fourth quarter.

The United States also out-rebounded Israel 43-34.

Gibbs came off the bench to score eight points in 22 minutes. He went 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Green led the United States with 16 points. Missouri’s Marcus Denmon added 13 points while Mbakwe and John Jenkins each scored 12 points.

Lithuania 76, USA 74

Lithuania took advantage of a poor shooting performance from the United States to hand Team USA a loss in the quarterfinals.

The United States struggled from the field during the entire game, including going 0 for 14 from the 3-point line in the second half.

The Americans finished with 34.3 percent shooting from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.

Team USA managed to tie the game at 74 with about two minutes remaining, but the poor shooting continued as the contest came to a close.

The United States missed its last five shots, allowing Lithuania to seal the win at the line by hitting two free throws.

Gibbs started the game, scoring 16 points and going 6 for 6 from the free-throw line. He went 5 for 13 from the field and 0 for 4 from beyond the arc.

Lithuania also out-rebounded the United States 43-37.

USA 94, Romania 73

Team USA started its classification game against Romania on a 12-0 run and never relinquished the lead, earning a trip to the fifth/sixth place game against Germany.

Romania didn’t make a basket from the field until 3:38 remained in the first quarter, with the score 15-4.

Although Romania scored three field goals in the final 1:37 of the quarter, Team USA still ended the first quarter with a 20-12 advantage.

Michigan State’s Draymond Green hit two straight 3-pointers at the beginning of the second quarter and the United States built a 28-15 lead. The Americans finished the second quarter on an 11-4 run and led 47-29 at halftime.

Team USA used scoring runs in the third and fourth quarters to keep Romania at a distance.

Gibbs came off the bench to score four points in 16 minutes. He went 2-of-8 from the field.

Draymond Green led the Americans in scoring with 16 points. Jenkins and JaMychal Green each added 12 points while Notre Dame’s Tim Abromaitis added 11 points.

USA 86, Germany 83

After trailing by a point at halftime, the United States managed to edge by Germany to finish in fifth place at the World University Games.

Behind five quick points from Jenkins, Team USA tied the game at 45-45 with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter.

Then Gibbs and Draymond Green combined for a 6-0 scoring run that gave the United States a 51-47 advantage with 4:25 remaining in the quarter.

Germany hit two foul shots at the end of the third to cut the United States lead to 64-61 heading into the fourth quarter.

The United States used a 9-0 scoring run, fueled by six points from Mbakwe, to take a game-high 75-64 lead with 7:06 remaining.

Germany fought back to make the score 86-83 with 17 seconds remaining. But the United States played solid defense on the last possession of the game and Germany missed a difficult 3-point shot at the buzzer.

Gibbs made his fifth start of the tournament against Germany, scoring 11 points and adding a game-high three assists.

Team USA tied for the best record of the tournament with Serbia (6-1), finishing 7-1. Serbia won the World University games with a 68-55 win over Canada in the gold medal game.