Aug. 20, 2011
John Jenkins scored a team-high 17 points, but it was not enough as Team USA dropped their quarterfinal game to Lithuania, 76-74, at the World University Games in Shenzhen, China.
Plagued by ice-cold shooting, including 0-of-14 from 3-point in the second half, the USA (5-1) fell to Lithuania (5-1) 76-74 in the quarterfinals of the 2011World University Games on Saturday night at the Universiade Main Gym in Shenzhen, China. Team USA was 5-for-30 from three, with Jenkins making four of those five.
After battling back from as many as eight points down in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 74-74 with just under two minutes remaining, the USA missed its last five shot attempts as Lithuania sank two free throws to secure the win.
“We had some shots that didn’t fall,” Jenkins said. “We made a couple of mistakes on defense. They got to the free throw line. They hit some big shots and they were able to close it out.
“We still want to play hard,” Jenkins replied on how the U.S. is looking to respond in its next two games. “We didn’t accomplish our goal, but the worst thing we can do is give up and not play our hardest. We have to keep giving it our all and try to finish out strong.”
Read more of USA Basketball’s recap, with the box score, here.
