Tulane’s USA squad thumps Japan for 2-0 start

CHENGDU, China – Team USA dominated from start to finish in its second game of pool play in the World University Games defeating Japan 93-56 in Qingbaijiang Sports Center Gymnasium Sunday afternoon. The United States shot 54 percent from the field while holding Japan to just 32 percent shooting on the other end.

2-0 in pool play!

Japan 🇯🇵 – 56
USA 🇺🇸- 93 pic.twitter.com/pp5UBdju6v

— Tulane Men's Basketball (@GreenWaveMBB) July 30, 2023

With the victory, Team USA improved to 2-0 in pool play joining Czech Republic, which defeated Poland 89-68 Sunday, as the unbeaten teams in Pool C.

Eleven different players found the scoring column for the United States including four in double figures. Asher Woods led the team with 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting off the bench to go with three steals. Another strong shooting performance had Kolby King finish with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Rounding out the top scorers for the US were Percy Daniels with 14 points and Tre’ Williams with 11 points.

Team USA jumped out to a 9-1 advantage in the opening minutes of the first quarter to set the tone for the contest. The lead extended to 16 points before a half court buzzer-beater by Ryosei Sato of Japan made the score 30-17 in favor of USA at the end of the first.

The defensive effort took a step forward in the second frame as Team USA outscored Japan 19-12 to take a 49-29 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, King came to life offensively pouring in 12 points in the frame including a pair of triples. On the other end of the floor the United State continued to clamp down defensively holding Japan to just 10 points in the quarter and extending its advantage to 80-39.

Team USA coasted in the fourth to close out the victory 93-56 over Japan and improve to 2-0 in pool play.

Tulane, which is representing Team USA at the World University Games, will face the Czech Republic in a battle of the unbeaten teams in Pool C on Monday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m. local time, 6:30 a.m. CT. The game will be streamed on the FISU app and FISU.tv.