Team USA advanced to the quarterfinals of the U17 World Championships in Dubai on Thursday morning with a 113-71 win over China.
Henry Ellenson led the way with 21 points and 10 boards for the American, while Diamond Stone chipped in with 17 points and eight boards and Malik Newman added 16 points and five assists.
The US will advance to play Serbia in the semifinals on Friday. Serbia beat Canada on Thursday, 71-64, to advance. That game will be broadcast in the States at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The US is going to have an advantage in the front court in every game that they play in this event. Guys like Stone, Ellenson, Harry Giles, Calib Swanigan and Ivan Rabb are just too big and too athletic for these other countries to handle, especially when you consider that the US goes five deep up front. But what was promising in this game, especially when considering his long-term potential as a point guard, was Newman’s play at the point guard spot. He scored, but he didn’t limit himself, creating off the dribble and doing things like passing ahead in transition.
The other semifinal will be played between Australia and the winner of tonight’s Spain-France game.
Here is Thursday’s box score:
