Australia completes group stage with rout of Tunisia | FIBA U19 World Championship
The Australian U19 Men's squad has recorded their first win of the FIBA U19 World Championship, with an impressive 93-64 victory over Tunisia.
The Emus finish the group stage in third place, entering the knockout stages on a high after two close losses to open the tournament.
The Emus set the tone early, setting up Jack White for a dunk for the first basket of the game. White continued to find ways to get easy looks at the rim, scoring 8 of his 18 points in the first quarter. Tunisia managed to keep themselves in the game, thanks to some impressive perimeter shooting - Australia leading 24-16 at the end of the first period.
The start of second quarter saw some sloppy play from both squads before Australia managed to pick up the pace, ultimately extending their lead to double digits. The Emus finally managed to play to their strengths, using their length and versatility to be disruptive on the defensive end, then pushing the ball in transition whenever possible.
At the half, Australia had a 53-35 lead - Jack White leading the way for the Emus with 16 points.
The second half saw more of the same, with the Emus applying a full-court press to the Tunisians, not allowing anything to come easy for their opponents. Coach Adam Caporn went deep into his bench and continued to urge his team to push the ball, leading to easy baskets in transition.
The Emus would go on to win the game in convincing fashion, a 93-64 rout.
White finished the game with 18 points and 6 rebounds, while Tom Wilson had 13 points and 6 rebounds for the Emus.
Australia got some good minutes from Angus Glover off the bench - chipping in with 10 points, while Dejan Vasiljevic continued to show off his scoring prowess - scoring a very efficient 14 points in limited minutes.
Watch a full replay of the game below. The boxscore can be found here.
The Emus will face Serbia during Wednesday night's action, with the winner progressing to the quarter finals. The game will tip off early Thursday morning at 3am (AEST).