USA defeats Canada 92-86 in U19 World Cup despite 19 points from Bennedict Mathurin

USA held off a late rally from Canada and Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin, winning 92-86 in a FIBA U19 World Cup semifinal game on Saturday in Riga, Latvia.

Mathurin had 19 points on 7-for-17 shooting and five rebounds, hitting 3 of 5 3-pointers over 32 minutes played and helped Canada try to rally back from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter. But Mathurin fouled out with 45 seconds left, after hitting a 3 that cut USA's lead to 90-81 seven seconds earlier.

Both teams collected 50 rebounds but USA outshot Canada 46.3% to 35.3%.

"We had a chance to win the game," Mathurin said via FIBA communications. "We just didn’t have a couple of shots going in. We didn’t communicate enough for us to win. We should have done a better job of communicating and grabbing rebounds, not letting (them have) extra shots."

USA had four players score in double figures, led by 275-pound Louisiana Tech forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. (no relation to former UA player Kenny Lofton). Gonzaga-bound center Chet Holmgren, a projected 2022 NBA lottery pick added 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks for USA.

Together, the USA bigs countered Purdue center Zach Edey, who collected 16 points and 16 rebounds for Canada while Michigan-bound forward Caleb Houstan scored 23 points.

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"We got production out of that (center) spot as we have the whole tournament," said USA coach Jamie Dixon, head coach at TCU. "It's five-spot by committee. We really went after (Edey) on the defensive end."

Canada (5-1) will face Serbia for the bronze on Sunday. USA (6-0) will face France, a 75-69 winner over Serbia in the other semifinal, for the gold medal.

Earlier Saturday, Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo helped their countries to U19 victories in consolation games.

Ballo had 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 11 rebounds to help Mali to its first win in the World Cup, a 104-66 win over Japan. 

Tubelis had nine points and nine rebounds to help Lithuania get past Argentina 107-81. Lithuania will play Spain at 3 a.m. Sunday for fifth place. Mali will play Puerto Rico at 2 a.m. for 13th place.