Former KU guard Frank Mason helps Team USA to pair of World Cup qualifying victories
Former Kansas point guard Frank Mason scored six points, grabbed three rebounds and dished two assists while starting and playing 18 minutes in Team USA’s 78-48 victory over Panama in an FIBA Americas World Cup qualifying game on Monday night in Panama.
Mason, a second-year member of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, hit 2 of 4 shots and was 2 of 2 from the free-throw line. He had scored a team-leading 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting with a team-best eight assists and two rebounds in Team USA’s 114-57 victory over Uruguay on Friday night in Las Vegas.
“This was my first experience playing FIBA basketball. It was a great experience for me,” Mason told USAbasketball.com after Friday’s game. “We got the win, which is the most important thing.”
Chasson Randle of the Capital City Go-Go NBA G-League team scored 15 points and Derrick White of the San Antonio Spurs contributed 14 points versus Uruguay. Dwayne Bacon of the Charlotte Hornets and Henry Ellenson of the Detroit Pistons had 10 points each. Reggie Hearn of the Grand Rapids Drive scored 12 points and Bacon 10 to lead the way against Panama.
“Frank (Mason) had a heck of a game. He set the tone defensively in the first few minutes,” Team USA coach Jeff Van Gundy said after Friday’s win. “Frank (Mason) got into the teeth of the defense exceptionally well, and we shared it.”
After the second game, Van Gundy said: “I think our greatest strength is our depth. Again, we’ve pretty much done this throughout. We play 10 or 11 guys, anywhere from 10 or 11 minutes up to the low 20s. We try to take advantage of our depth.”
The U.S. is 7-1 in qualifying, finishing with a 2-0 mark in the second round. The U.S. went 5-1 and placed first in Group C in the first round.
At the conclusion of the Americas second-round games, seven teams will qualify out of the zone for the 2019 FIBA World Cup: The top three finishing teams of Group E and Group F, as well as the top-rated fourth-place team between Group E and Group F.
If the U.S. team qualifies, it will compete in the World Cup in September 2019 in China.
Meanwhile, former KU guard Svi Mykhailiuk of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 22 points with five steals and three assists in Ukraine’s 76-65 victory over Spain in World Cup qualifying Friday. He hit five threes.
On Monday, Mykhailiuk scored 15 points in a 90-84 loss to Montenegro. He played point guard in the contest, hitting 5 of 15 shots overall. Ukraine and Montenegro are tied for fourth place in Group I. The top three teams from each group qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Gary Bedore
Gary Bedore covers University of Kansas athletics for The Star.
