TORONTO – The Georgetown Hoyas locked up a spot in the men’s GLOBL JAM gold medal game Sunday and relegated Canada to competing for the bronze.
In a bruising, physical affair that turned into a shootout in the final minutes, the Hoyas held off a comeback from Brazil, eking out a 76-74 win at Mattamy Athletic Centre Saturday.
“Tight games, you gotta be able to win those games if you want to go far in the tournament or push your team to the next level,” said Georgetown’s lead guard Malik Mack after the win. “Playing in these tight games is teaching us how to finish games and how to execute down the stretch. It’s very important.”
With all three of Canada, Brazil and Georgetown finishing 2-1, the three-way tie was decided by head-to-head point differential, with Canada’s minus-four trailing the Hoyas’ minus-one and Brazil’s plus-five.
The game was won in the paint early as centres Vince Iwuchukwu and Bruno Cardoso battled it out down low, each leading their team with 13 and 11 points, respectively, after three quarters.
Iwuchukwu’s paint dominance defined the game for Georgetown as he led the Hoyas with 16 points, adding five rebounds and a pair of blocks, while his pick-and-roll partner Mack scored 11 and added seven assists.
“When we played in the friendly (against Brazil), we really didn’t utilize our post that well,” said Cooley. “So, we wanted to make that a point of emphasis to try to get Julius (Halaifonua) the seal and Vince (Iwuchukwu) the ball.”
But the lead changed six times in the fourth as Brazilian sharpshooters Gabriel Landiera and Vitor Brandao unloaded from three, making five straight triples to set up a dramatic finish.
Landeira finished with 16 – leading Brazil for a second straight game – and shot 5-of-8 from deep while adding six assists. Brandao scored 11, including two triples in clutch time.
Operating from the top of the floor, Landiera drove and drew help, kicking to Brandao for three to bring the score within two late in the fourth. After forcing an over-and-back at the other end caused raucous cheers from the Brazil bench and crowd, Brandao hit a step-back three in isolation to give Brazil its first lead of the second half with less than three minutes remaining.
Mack drove through heavy point-of-attack pressure from Brandao at the other end to draw free throws on consecutive possessions.
Yet Landiera couldn’t miss in the final minutes, dropping another high-arcing isolation three through contact, sliding to the floor with no foul call.
Down by one, Julius Halaifonua drew free throws for Georgetown amidst a mad scramble under the basket. After making the first to even the game at 74, Brazil goaltended the second on its way up. This caused the free throw to count and allowed Georgetown to net another technical free throw, but stopped the clock.
Brazil took a timeout, eschewing the tie to set up a final shot for the win. Nathan Mariano missed a contested wing triple, ending the game and Canada’s hopes of GLOBL JAM gold.
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GLOBL JAM on Sportsnet
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After leaving Georgetown’s Thursday game against Canada in the final minute with what initially appeared to be a severe ankle roll, DeShawn Harris-Smith checked into the game midway through the first quarter.
Some sharp ball movement saw Mack find Harris-Smith for an open corner three. Soon after Cardoso detonated on a roll to the rim, evening the score at 16 in the first quarter.
Iwuchukwu responded with three finishes at the rim of his own, including emphatically dunking back-to-back lobs from Williams and Harris-Smith.
The new transfer from St. Johns established his presence in the paint, throwing down another big slam off a lay-down pass as Georgetown jumped ahead 28-21 on a game-high 8-0 run for the Hoyas.
High pick-and-roll was Georgetown’s bread and butter, and after Brazil loaded up on Iwuchukwu, Mack found Williams open on the wing and he caught and cashed from three.
“Just trying to read the tag man, see what was going on. Vince (Iwuchukwu) is a lob threat so we can throw it up to the rim,” said Mack. “Or if the shooter’s open, throw it to the shooter. Or if they leave the ball handler, just making the right read, trying to get two points out of the ball screen.”
Lucas Atauri and Landiera hit triples as the first half came to a close, cutting the Hoyas’ lead to 38-35.
Iwuchukwu was finally deterred at the rim by Mariano and Daniel Onwenu drilled a pull-up triple in transition going the other way to keep Brazil within five in the third.
Isaiah Abraham canned a catch-and-shoot three from the corner to start the fourth, extending Georgetown’s lead to double digits for the first time in the game. Jeremiah Williams finished a transition runout, cueing a Brazil timeout less than one minute into the final frame.
Iwuchukwu drop-stepped and threw down yet another thunderous slam in the fourth prior to Brazil’s flurry of shot-making.
