Australia take down Senegal as Ingles flirts with a first ever triple-double

DONGGUAN (China) - Australia defeated Senegal 81-68 to climb to 2-0 in Group H, as Joe Ingles flirted with a first ever triple-double in FIBA Basketball World Cup history, but fell just short.

Senegal proved to be a different team compared to the one that got destroyed by Lithuania two days ago, and they made Australia work hard up until the last minute of the game. But it was just too much of Joe Ingles for Senegal, they drop to 0-2.

Turning Point: Senegal made it all the way back to 64-59 midway through the fourth quarter, but Joe Ingles had an answer. His high arching three-pointer beat the shot clock buzzer to make it a 10-point game two possessions later, and any hope of a comeback was killed by another similar shot from Ingles to make it 77-66 with a minute left to play.

TCL Player of the Game: Ingles. The small forward had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, and he also blocked two shots on the day. Australia were a +14 team with him on the floor.

Stats Don't Lie: Sharing is caring, and Australia are sharing the ball like few others in China. The Boomers delivered 28 assists, setting their new World Cup-high, which is way above Senegal's 10 assists on the other end.

Bottom Line: Australia are looking good at 2-0, and will feel good about their game against Lithuania in two days. The only thing that could bother coach Andrej Lemanis is the fact that Patty Mills played 33 minutes to get 22 points, and both Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova (6pts, 8reb, 7ast) were also on the court for more than 30 minutes.

They Said: "We knew that Senegal were not going to play the way they did the first game so we knew that we would had to prepare for this game the way we do for any other game. That first half, they kind of had us on our back foot but obviously we came in and addressed some issues at the half time. Credit to them for the way they played. For us obviously, we have what to take good and bad. The only goal today was to win the game. That was the focus of the game." - Australia forward Joe Ingles

"Our guys really fought today. We came out with a lot of energy especially on defense and we executed what we wanted on offense and that is all we can ask for after a horrible first game. The second game was great and I am really proud of the guys." - Senegal forward Maurice Ndour

"Today, we should a lot of character on both offense and defense. At some point, there was a gap in the scores and we found ourselves in foul trouble but generally, I am very proud of the team effort today." - Senegal coach Moustapha Gaye

FIBA