TORONTO – In a nail-biter at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, Georgetown men’s basketball (representing Team USA) edged Brazil 76-74 on Saturday afternoon to close out round-robin play at GLOBL JAM. With the win, the Hoyas finished pool play at 2-1 and advanced to Sunday’s gold medal matchup — a rematch against Brazil. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (U.S.) and SportsNet (Canada).
Coach & Player Reactions
Head Coach Ed Cooley praised the collective effort:
“We had unselfish play from Jeremiah [Williams], a great backdoor cut to Jayden Fort, big rebound by Jayden, and Julius [Halaifonua] hitting that free throw to tie it. All of those guys redshirted last year, so it was exciting to see. Our two-point defense was excellent, and the guys shared the ball well. For this level of play in mid-August, I’m really proud.”
DeShawn Harris-Smith reflected on the DMV connections within the roster:
“Playing for America and for Georgetown, with local guys I’ve known since middle school, and doing it on this stage in front of our families — it means a lot.”
Malik Mack noted the lessons from back-to-back close contests:
“Tight games are teaching us how to execute in crunch time.”
Hoya Highlights
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Vince Iwuchukwu: Game-high 16 points (7-11 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 blocks.
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Jeremiah Williams: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal.
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Malik Mack: 11 points (7-8 FT), 7 assists, 4 rebounds.
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Julius Halaifonua: 10 points off the bench, perfect 3-3 from the field.
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Caleb Williams: Team-high 8 rebounds.
Georgetown shot 42.9% overall (27-63), hit five threes, and won the battle on the boards 43-33.
Brazil Highlights
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Gabriel Landeira: 16 points, 6 assists.
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Vitor Brandao: 13 points.
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Bruno Cardoso: 11 points.
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Nathan Mariano: 11 points, team-best 7 rebounds.
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Lucas Atauri: 10 points.
Brazil shot just 36.8% from the floor but stayed alive with 12 threes (40%).
Game Flow
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1st Quarter: Georgetown opened with a 9-5 run, but Bruno Cardoso carried Brazil with 10 straight points to end the quarter tied at 18.
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2nd Quarter: Iwuchukwu fueled a burst of dunks, and the Hoyas led 38-35 at the break.
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3rd Quarter: Williams and Iwuchukwu combined for nine early points; Halaifonua added six late as GU extended the lead to 55-48.
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4th Quarter: Georgetown went up by 13 (63-50), but Brazil stormed back with a barrage of threes to briefly take the lead 67-66 with under three minutes left. Key free throws from Halaifonua and Mack, plus a Fort dunk, sealed the 76-74 win.
Up Next
Georgetown meets Brazil again on Sunday, August 17, in the GLOBL JAM gold medal game (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+/SportsNet).
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