PORTLAND, Ore. — Livio Jean-Charles of France had 27 points and 13 rebounds Saturday to lead the World Select Team to a 112-98 win over the U.S. Junior National team at the Nike Hoop Summit.
The 6-foot-9 forward hit 10 of 13 shots and the World Selects earned their fifth win in the 16-game series. German guard Dennis Schroder had 18 points and forward Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., added 17.
Duke-bound forward Jabari Parker led the United States with 22 points. Julius Randle and Andrew Harrison, both Kentucky signees, had 19 points apiece.
The Nike Hoop Summit, first played in 1995, has been an annual game since 2004 between the U.S. Junior National team and a select group of elite junior international players. Portland has been the Hoop Summit home since 2008.
This is the first time the World team has won consecutive games. Last year, it defeated Team USA 84-75.
The World Selects shot 49 per cent from the floor and outrebounded the U.S. 50-35. The World team had 24 assists on 38 baskets.
"Probably the most impressive thing is the way we shared the ball from the first practice," World coach Roy Rana, a Toronto native who is also the coach of the national junior men’s team. "It’s certainly going to be one of my most memorable experiences as a coach."
Parker agreed that team play proved to be the difference.
"At the end of the day, our team is more athletic, but they played better as a team," Parker said.
Of the 21 Nike Summit players, 12 have signed or committed to a college program, including the entire 10-man USA roster. Kentucky has four players bound for Lexington in Harrison, Randle, Harrison’s twin brother Aaron and World centre Karl Towns Jr.
Arizona’s two signees played prominent roles, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scoring 17 points for the U.S. and Aaron Gordon finishing with nine.
The World Selects controlled play for most of the first half. They led 23-21 after one quarter, then started the second with a 10-2 run.
A 12-2 run by the United States, punctuated by Parker’s driving baseline dunk, cut the deficit to 49-43. The World team led 52-43 at halftime.
The U.S. team tried to make it a game during the third quarter, closing to 64-62 on Hollis-Jefferson’s layup with four minutes remaining. The World team regrouped and took off, scoring eight consecutive points during a stretch that started with back-to-back dunks by Wiggins.
The World team started the fourth quarter with a 9-1 run, and its lead increased to 89-71 on a short jump shot by Kansas-bound Joel Embiid.
