The U.S. struggled early to put points on the board, but veteran Matt Scott (Detroit, Mich./Whitewater, Wisc.) stepped up to ignite the team on the offensive end.  Scott’s 22 points and 10 rebounds led the U.S. squad, which also got another strong performance from big man Joe Chambers (Davis, Calif./Whitewater, Wisc.), who tallied 16 points and seven boards.

“I had some good opportunities in this game and I just like to take advantage of those chances that come my way,” said Scott.  “Each one of these games is a stepping stone for what our team actually wants to accomplish.  Of course, our goal is to win the gold medal and our team uses each of these games to help us get closer to that goal.”

Also helping the U.S. cause were co-captains Paul Schulte (Manchester, Mich./Bradenton, Fla.) and Jeremy Lade (Janesville, Wisc.) who each scored 11 points.  Schulte also grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 6 assists while Lade chipped in with 8 assists.

This is the third lopsided win for the U.S., which beat its first two opponents by 77 and 50 points, respectively.  But, head coach Steve Wilson (Racine, Wisc.) isn’t pleased with simply posting big wins.

“We only scored five points in the first six minutes of this game and for a team that puts up 80 points and can clearly score, it shows that when we don’t work together, we’re not very good,” said Wilson.  “Our guys went out there and played like individuals and that’s really going to hurt us as we move deeper into the tournament.”

The U.S. faces Venezuela (0-3) in quarterfinal action at 8:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, August 16.

 “We’ve learned that we can really defend and score, but we need to put those together consistently to continue to be successful,” added Wilson.  “Big challenges await us as we head into championship round play and our young players are going to have to be able to contribute for us and the team is going to need to stay mentally tough.”