SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Brady Heslip poured in a game-high 14 points and four other Canadians scored in double figures on Tuesday as Canada’s men’s national team defeated the Dominican Republic 86-74 at the 2015 Tuto Marchand Continental Cup.
Anthony Bennett, Philip Scrubb and Melvin Ejim each contributed 12 points for Canada, which improved to 3-0 at the tournament, while Andrew Wiggins added 11.
The Canadians started slowly, but managed to take a 21-19 lead into the second quarter. Canada started to heat up in the second — including three straight threes — and owned a 48-31 advantage by halftime.
"I think both teams got off to a real slow start in the game but we were able to get things going in the second quarter and have a big half time lead," said head coach Jay Triano.
Eloy Vargas scored 12 points for the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic hung around in the third, taking advantage of transition opportunities to prevent the game from becoming a blowout. Canada could not connect on jump shots and the Dominicans used the opportunity to storm back. Canada’s lead was down to nine by the end of the quarter, 62-53.
Canada’s lead would be trimmed to five before Bennett sparked a 15-0 run over a six-minute span in the fourth.
"(They) came back in the third quarter, they were playing very hard," said guard Corey Joseph. "We know that they had about five of their key guys missing so the other guys really stepped up for them and played hard. We were able to make some shots at the end and bust it back open."
Canada’s next game is Wednesday against the hosts from Puerto Rico. The tournament is a warm-up event for the FIBA Americas Championship, which begins Aug. 31 in Mexico City.
