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Theo Pinson, Trey Lyles lead USA Blue to adidas Nations title

Theo Pinson

Facebook/adidas Nations

The USA 2014 Blue team trailed by six, 38-32 at half to USA 2014 Red in the championship game of the 2013 adidas Nations. However, it all turned around in the second half, as USA Blue captured the adidas Nations title with an 81-77 win on Monday night at the Hall of Champions Gym on the campus of Long Beach City College (Calif.).

USA Blue outscored USA Red 31-16, pushing them ahead by nine heading into the final 10 minutes of play. USA Red trailed by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, but with seven minutes to play began to climb back into the game. Jahlil Okafor’s offensive rebound and finger roll cut the led to one with 2:57 to play.

USA Blue held off the comeback by knocking down free throws, including a pair from North Carolina-commit Theo Pinson, who iced the game with 13.6 seconds to play.

Pinson was the leading scorer for the adidas Nations champions on the night with 15 points. Reid Travis scored 14 for Blue while Trey Lyles chipped in 10. Stanley Johnson had a game-high 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds for Red. Okafor ended with 15 and eight.

In the semifinals, USA Blue defeated Africa while USA Red topped the USA Red 2015 team to advance to the finals. Africa cruised to a 69-56 victory over the 2015 team in the third-place game. Sidy Ndir, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Senegal, was the star of the game scoring 23 points for the third-place finishers.

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