DONGGUAN, China, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A key 26-14 third quarter helped Canada smash Senegal 82-60 in Group H of the 2019 FIBA World Cup here on Thursday.
Sacramento Kings point guard Cory Joseph had a game-high 24 points for Canada, with Kevin Pangos adding another 13 points. Mouhammad Faye pocketed a team-best 14 points for Senegal.
With both Canada and Senegal having suffered two defeats prior to this game, both sides knew they had no chance of progressing to the tournament's second round.
"We didn't achieve our goal, but we gained a lot of experience and drew a lesson from these games," said Senegal head coach Moustapha Gaye. "Our opponents in this group are all very powerful, and our ability is limited, but we played very well sometimes. We are confident of winning in the next few games."
A 12-0 run help Senegal lead the first quarter 22-11, but Canada equalized in the latter half of the second quarter and led 33-32 as time ran out.
Five three-pointers helped Canada widen the gap to 59-46 in the third quarter, and a 6-0 run in the final quarter put Canada 20 points ahead, enough to seal the victory.
"We generated good defense today, we took good shots and got more three-pointers in the second half, and we fought back," said Nick Nurse, head coach of Canada.
"We lost to powerful Australia and Lithuania, you saw their good performance, and we also learned a lot from them," he added.
The two teams now drop into the World Cup's classification round, beginning in Shanghai from September 7.
