Wisconsin basketball class of 2025 commit Hayden Jones led New Zealand to its second straight pool play win of the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup on Sunday.
A day faraway from its 77-72 victory and fourth-quarter comeback towards Argentina, New Zealand pocketed a commanding 73-50 conquer Mali in its second group stage contest of the circuit.
New Zealand held Mali to simply 12 complete factors within the second half, enabling Jones and his teammates to morph a three-point edge right into a 23-point blowout.
Jones, who dedicated to the Badgers’ program on July 25, 2024, registered a game-best 19 factors off 7-of-12 from the sector and 4-of-6 from 3-point vary. The 6-foot-5 taking pictures guard additionally snared eight rebounds and dished out two assists in his 25 minutes of motion. Of notice, 12 of Jones’ factors arrived within the second quarter, together with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to push New Zealand forward on the half.
His fellow New Zealand nationwide workforce member and Badger commit Jackson Ball, who accounted for a team-high 17 factors towards Argentina, completed with six factors, three rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes of play. By two video games, Jones leads his nation with 14 factors and 10 rebounds per recreation, adopted by 11.5 factors and three assists per contest from Ball.
The People, who roster future skilled stars Koa Peat, AJ Dybantsa, Morez Johnson Jr. and Christopher Brown, secured an 88-73 win over Australia of their first pool play recreation.
New Zealand will sq. off subsequent towards Serbia on July 1 for an opportunity to say a 3-0 mark in Pool A. If the squad earns an unblemished report, it can advance to the knockout stage looking for an look within the match’s championship match on July 6.
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