Syracuse-bound point guard Tyler Ennis will lead Canada into the FIBA U19 World Championship quarterfinals against the USA in Prague.
All four quarterfinals will take place Friday.
Despite battling the flu, Ennis, who played at St. Benedict’s Prep, went for 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists Wednesday as Canada (3-3) fended off Argentina, 78-62.
Uncommitted 2014 forward Trey Lyles of Arsenal (Ind.) Tech led Canada with 21 points and 12 rebounds and Florida State commit Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 16 points.
Ennis now ranks second in scoring in the event behind Croatia’s Dario Saric at 21.3 points and Lyles ranks third at 19.5 points.
The USA then improved to 6-0 with a 71-62 victory over previously unbeaten Serbia.
Uncommitted 2014 Chicago big man Jahlil Okafor led the way with 16 points and Duke’s Rasheed Sulaimon added 15 points.
Arizona’s Aaron Gordon added 11 points and nine boards.
Syracuse’s Jerami Grant had been on the team but withdrew with mono, meaning there will be no Syracuse showdown between Ennis and Grant.
“I think tomorrow we’ll just try and regroup a little bit. This was a real physical battle and game,” said USA and University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan . “So we’ll have to try and regroup and prepare to play Canada. They dealt with some injuries early on when the tournament started and they appear to be playing pretty well right now. They’re a talented team and we’ll need to come back and get rejuvenated.”
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Photo: FIBA
