FIBA U17 - USA breeze past China into Semis

DUBAI (FIBA U17 World Championship) - Two-time reigning undefeated champions United States cruised into the Semi-Finals of the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship with a 113-71 victory over China.

Henry Ellenson paced five Americans in double digits with 21 points, while Diamond Stone scored 17 points, Malik Newman added 16 and Harry Giles chipped in with a dozen in the win.

In the Semis, the USA - who have never lost in the history of this tournament - will square off against the winners of the Quarter-Final between Canada and Serbia.

China, who will take on the loser of that game in Classification Games 5-8, got 16 points from Fu Hao and 14 from Hu Jianqiu while Zhao Yinhao was held to 11 points - 11 below his average.

The Americans pulled away right away in the first quarter, building a 20-point lead 30-10. And it was 30-11 after 10 minutes.

After China had fought back to within 39-25, USA coach Don Showalter called a time-out, saying "Now they're back in the game."

His team responded by closing out the first half on a 12-0 run for a 51-25 lead at the break.

A 16-0 spurt finished the 30-2 run spanning the second and third quarters for a 69-27 advantage.

China never threatened after that.

FIBA