Harrison Barnes (#7) drained 4-of-8 3-pointers on his way to a USA high 27 points as the U.S. rallied to post a 101-97 victory in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit. (Photo: Sam Forencich/USA Basketball)
PORTLAND, Ore. (April 10, 2010) -- Trailing by 15 points with just nine seconds left in the third period, the 2010 USA Junior National Select Team rallied to outscore its opponent 42-23 over the game's final 10:09 to capture an exciting 101-97 comeback win over the World Select Team in the 13th Annual Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday, April 10 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.
The Nike Hoop Summit is the country's premier annual basketball game for high-school age boys and features America's elite, young athletes against a World Select Team comprised of top international players 19-years-old or younger. With the win, the USA improved its advantage to 10-3 in the series.
Harrison Barnes (Ames H.S. / Ames, Iowa) and Jared Sullinger (Northland H.S. / Columbus, Ohio), who finished as the USA's leading scorers with 27 and 22 points, respectively, combined in the fourth period for 22 points to help the USA erase the deficit, while local talent Terrence Jones (Jefferson H.S. / Portland, Ore.) sparked the USA's turnaround with a 3-pointer to close the third quarter and a coast-to-coast layup to start the final 10 minutes.
"I was looking for something to put my foot down where we could get a stop and maybe turn the tide," said USA head coach Bob Cimmino (Mount Vernon H.S., N.Y.). "I think Terrence's basket at the end of the third quarter was huge. It gave us a little lift and prevented us from being really deep in the hole."
The World Team was led by a record-setting performance from 6-10 Turkish center Enes Kanter (Stoneridge Prep, Calif. / Turkey), who finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds. Kanter's 13-of-21 shooting performance from the field set the World Team Nike Hoop Summit record for field goals made and attempted and his 34 points broke the individual World Team scoring record of 33 points set by Dirk Nowitzki in 1998.
Thirty-four points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes is very, very impressive," said World Team head coach Rob Beveridge. "It's probably one of the best I've seen in a long time, so well done."
Jones and Kyrie Irving (St. Patrick H.S. / Elizabeth, N.J.) were the only two players to also score points for the red, white and blue in the fourth quarter and both players finished with 15 points apiece.
"We had great support," Jones said. "I love my state, and I love living here. To see how the fans came out to support us, the United States and me personally, it was just a great victory, especially to win it at home."
"In the fourth quarter I just decided to work harder to get open and find the open spot so my teammates could find me," said Sullinger, who finished the night shooting 10-of-14 from the floor and collected a USA best eight rebounds "And just feeding off of them, they made it real easy for me."
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