RJ Barrett scored a game-high 17 points and Canada cruised to a 128-73 win over Lebanon on Sunday at the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup.
All but two Canadians scored in double digits as Canada set a tournament record with 44 assists in improving to 2-0 at the tournament and advanced to the second round.
Trae Bell-Haynes had 15 points, hitting five of the six shots he took from three-point range, and added eight assists.
Melvin Ejim had 13 points, while Kelly Olynyk, Zach Edey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 12 apiece. Kyle Alexander and Dillon Brooks each chipped in 10.
“We played together, we shared the basketball,” Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Forty-four assists to 15 turnovers is a record in the World Cup. It just shows that sharing is caring and these guys were ready to play the right way.”
RJ Barrett leads the way, Canada blows out Lebanon at FIBA World Cup
Barrett had a team-leading 17 points in a game where Canada beat Lebanon by more than 50.
The 15th-ranked Canadians entered Sunday’s game having thumped fifth-ranked France 95-65 on Friday.
“We’re super excited that we kept our momentum going,” Bell-Haynes said. “We talked about making sure that there wasn’t any fall off [after our win against France], keeping the momentum going and I think we did a good job.
“Our confidence is high. You could see everyone was playing well, playing free. Happy that we kept that going and hope we can continue to do that.”
Omari Spellman led Lebanon with 16 points.
Canada — which shot 71 per cent from the floor, including 18-of-30 from three-point range — was up 16 points after the first quarter and went into halftime up 36.
The Canadians went into the fourth quarter up 100-48, with no player getting more than 20 minutes of action in the contest.
Former Canadian men’s basketball coach Jay Triano expresses his thoughts on the Canadian Men’s basketball team. He believes the team has the squad to go far at the FIBA World Cup and qualify for the Olympics.
“The most important game is the next game,” Fernandez said. “Right now we have Latvia in our minds. We have to prepare for them. We’re going to play really hard against them for 40 minutes because they’re very good. We need that to grow.
“We don’t have the experience and we challenge ourselves to a high standard. Yes, I’m happy with what we’ve done, but what we’ve done is in the past. It just reinforces, it gives you confidence, but you need that next challenge and that next challenge is in front of us.”
Canada shot 71 per cent, and played without Lu Dort, who was held out with soreness. Former NBA player Omari Spellman led Lebanon with 16 points.
Latvia 88, France 86
France came to the World Cup planning to win gold. It won’t even make the second round, an absolutely stunning development for the reigning Olympic silver medallists.
Latvia got 22 points from Arturs Zagars and shocked France 88-86 Sunday night. The result sent Latvia and Canada through to the second round, and meant France — which won the bronze at the last two World Cups — cannot finish better than 17th place this year.
Rolands Smits added 20 points and Davis Bertans had 15 points, as Latvia rallied from a 13-point deficit. It took the lead for the first time with 37.7 seconds left and held on when Sylvain Francisco missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Evan Fournier had 27 points for France, who lost to Canada in its opener.
The momentum swung in the middle of the fourth quarter when France playmaker Nando de Colo was ejected after receiving his second unsportsmanlike foul.
Latvia and Canada will play for Group H’s top spot on Tuesday.
Dominican Republic 87, Italy 82
Karl-Anthony Towns and the Dominican Republic stayed perfect at the Basketball World Cup, with a trip to the second round in their sights.
Towns and Andres Feliz each scored 24 points, and the Dominican Republic connected on 16 3-pointers in an 87-82 win over Italy in a Group A game at Manila on Sunday.
Feliz had seven of those 3s for the winners (2-0). Towns finished with 11 rebounds and Jean Montero had 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.
“Getting the job done,” Towns said. “I think we did a great job and found a way to win. Andres and everybody down the line was amazing. This was a great team win.”
Italy (1-1) led 12-0 to open the game but led only 39-38 at the half — and lost coach Gianmarco Pozzecco to a second-quarter ejection after he picked up his second technical foul.
The game changed entirely in the third; the Dominican Republic outscored Italy 31-17 in those 10 minutes, then held off a rally in the fourth.
Marco Spissu led Italy with 17 points, while Simone Fontecchio scored 13, Giampaolo Ricco had 12 and Achille Polonara added 10.
Italy plays the Philippines to end group play on Tuesday, while the Dominican Republic takes on Angola.
Italy can still advance to the second round with a win on Tuesday, but the players know facing the home team in what will almost surely be an elimination game will be difficult.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Italy’s Luigi Datome said. “It’s going to be a nice atmosphere and all the players like to play in a nice atmosphere.”
Germany 85, Australia 82
At Okinawa, Dennis Schroder scored 30 points and added eight assists and Germany (2-0) closed in on a spot in the second round.
Maodo Lo scored 20 for Germany, which trailed by four entering the final quarter but opened it on a 10-0 run.
Australia tied the game twice in the fourth. Both times, Schroder had an immediate answer to reclaim the lead. His basket with 46 seconds left put Germany ahead for good.
Patty Mills, as he did in the first game, led Australia with 21 points, five rebounds and six assists. Matisse Thybulle had 17 for Australia, which was only 9 for 16 from the foul line.
Germany played without Franz Wagner, who sat with an ankle injury.
Australia could need a victory in its final group game against Japan — the home team in the group — on Tuesday to advance. Germany finishes group play against Finland.
Montenegro 89, Egypt 74
At Manila, Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and seven rebounds and Montenegro (2-0) had little trouble with Egypt.
Nikola Ivanovic scored 15 for Montenegro, while Kendrick Perry scored 11 and Vladimir Mihailovic and Dino Radoncic finished with 10 apiece.
Ehab Amin led all scorers with 26 points for Egypt (0-2), while Anas Mahmoud and Patrick Gardner each finished with 13.
A major difference was points off turnovers: Montenegro turned Egypt’s 22 giveaways into 30 points, while Egypt managed 17 points off Montenegro’s 16 turnovers.
Montenegro plays Lithuania on Tuesday, and Egypt will take on Mexico.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
