For three quarters Mexico went toe-to-toe with Canada in their second-round tilt at the FIBA Americas Championship but when the fourth quarter got underway, the Canadians found an extra gear and left the Mexicans in their dust.
With Andrew Nicholson sidelined by foul trouble once again, less-heralded shooting guards Brady Heslip and Andy Rautins stepped up. They combined for 40 points to lead Canada to an 89-67 win over Mexico.
The two sides battled back and forth throughout most of the first half as the lead exchanged hands several times until there were five minutes remaining.
Canada then went on an 8-0 run to open up a 12-point lead before the advantage settled at 40-31 at the break.
Mexico opened the second half firing on all cylinders as one of the tournament’s leading scorers Gustavo Ayon began to assert himself upon the game. The Atlanta Hawks centre scored six of Mexico’s eight straight points to trim the Canadian lead to one.
But then Heslip checked in. The Baylor Bears guard hit three straight threes before Levon Kendall added a fourth to push the Canadian lead back to eight with three minutes to play in the third.
“If you give (Heslip) a little bit of a look and he shoots it, I think everyone in the gym thinks it’s going in,” Triano said after the game.
But a resilient Mexican squad wouldn’t stay down as they continued to battle back. An Orlando Melendez three as time expired trimmed the Canadian lead to 60-58 heading into the fourth quarter.
That was when the wheels finally fell off for Mexico.
The Canadians opened up the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run keyed by Rautins. He would hit a pair of threes before adding an old-fashioned three-point play to push Canada’s lead to 13.
While Rautins went off on the other end of the floor, his coach praised his work on the defensive end after the game.
“Rautins’ defense has been outstanding,” Triano said. “He’s been one of our most consistent players.”
The Red & White never looked back from that point, holding the Mexicans to just nine fourth-quarter points en route to their lopsided victory.
“We feel as long as our defence is good. We have a chance,” Canadian point guard Cory Joseph said.
The Canadians torched Mexico all night from long range hitting 16-26 from beyond the arc.
Heslip would finish the game with 21 points including five 3-pointers while Rautins added 19 points. Joseph had another great all-around game for Canada as he scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists.
Orlando Mendez led the way for Mexico with 21 points while Ayon also dropped in 19 while collecting 11 rebounds.
Canada’s record improves to 3-1 with a tough battle with Venezuela up next on the schedule Friday. The game can be seen live on Sportsnet 360 with coverage slated to begin at 5:15 p.m. ET.
