KU guard Taylen Kinney’s Team USA squad settles for second in FIBA AmeriCup
Kansas freshman point guard Taylen Kinney’s USA Basketball Under 18 national team lost to Team Canada 67-65 Sunday night in the championship game of the FIBA Under 18 AmeriCup tournament in Leon, Mexico.
Kinney, a 6-foot native of Newport, Kentucky who played last season with Overtime Elite in Atlanta, scored 10 points in defeat. He hit 4 of 9 shots and was 2-of-3 from 3. He also had two assists, two turnovers and a steal in 21 minutes.
The U.S. team rolled to a 102-56 victory over Brazil in Saturday’s semifinal.
Kinney had six points, five assists against two turnovers and two steals in that game.
Kinney in previous games scored three points with three assists against Brazil, 12 points with four assists against Mexico and six points with five assists against Argentina. The U.S. won all those games.
On Sunday, Quentin Coleman’s 3-point try missed at the buzzer, assuring Canada the win. Kinney suffered a turnover by committing a disputed offensive foul driving the lane with six seconds left and Team USA down 67-65.
This marked the fourth time in tournament history that Canada and the U.S. met in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup championship game. The two teams previously played for the gold medal in 2014, 2016 and 2018, with the Americans prevailing each time.
Team USA was seeking its eighth consecutive gold medal in the competition, while Canada claimed its first-ever title.
