Britain thrash China 90-58 to pick up their first victory of tournament – Olympics Men Basketball Recap
The British men basketball team secured their first victory of the London Olympics with a 90-58 thrashing of China here on Monday night.
The British team outscored the Chinese in every quarter of the game on their way to a comfortable victory. Kieron Achara scored 16 points and 6 rebounds on the night, going 4 of 8 from the field to lead the Brits in scoring. Nate Reinking finished with 12 points.
China got off to a good start in the first period, scoring the first 7 points of the game. However, a three pointer by Reinking tied the game at 10 as Britain made a comeback. The hosts took the lead for the first time through a three pointer by Achara, which initiated a 12-0 run that saw their lead being extended to 22-12. Britain led 27-15 at the end of the period.
Achara’s three pointer with 5 minutes left in the second period gave the British team a comfortable 39-24 lead, and Andrew Lawrence closed the first half with a three pointer to give the home team a 46-31 lead going into the half time break.
Britain continued their dominance throughout the third period, and led by double digit points. Two free throws by Lawrence had Britain up 61-42, and the game seemed decided there and then as the Chinese team failed to match the offense of the British side. Britain led 72-48 at the end of the third period.
The fourth quarter was only a formality as the British side outscored the Chinese 18-10 en route to their first win of the tournament. China failed to give any trouble to the home team throughout the game and Britain won 90-58 in the end.
Andrew Sullivan scored 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Joel Freeland finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds for the night, going 5 of 9 from the field.
The Chinese side failed to make any mark on the game, with Zhizhi Wang the scoring leader for the team with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Jianlian Yi was the only other player in double digit points for the Chinese side, scoring 10 points and grabbing 14 rebounds for the night. Shipeng Wang added 9 points to the team tally.
Britain shot 40.3% from the field, as compared to 36.5% for China. They went 15 of 20 from the foul line where as the Chinese were 16 of 26 from the same distance for the night.
Britain also outplayed China in the rebounds category, dominating the boards to earn a 49-37 advantage in rebounds. China only managed 8 assists throughout the game, showing that they never got into the rhythm and failed to make plays on the court. Britain kept their turnovers to a minimum, committing 5 for the night.
With the victory, Britain are now placed fifth in Group B after losing their first 4 games. China are yet to score a victory in the tournament after 5 games and are placed 6th in the group.
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