KU #TeamUSA defeats Canada 91-83

Frank Mason poured in 28 points, Jamari Traylor reeled in 10 rebounds, and Wayne Selden dished out 6 assists in leading Team USA aka The Kansas Jayhawks to a 91-83 win over Team Canada in exhibition play at Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO, on Tuesday night.

The Jayhawks trailed for much of the game until taking the lead late in the third quarter (remember, it's international rules).  Canada led 25-21 after the first quarter and opened up a 10 point lead midway through the second quarter, but the Jayhawks fought back to only trail by two at the half, 43-41.

The Jayhawks would finally take the lead at the 5:12 mark of the third quarter, and would go back and forth with the Canadians until KU finally took the lead for good at 82-80 with 2:27 left in the game on a Frank Mason three-pointer.  KU would pull away in the final second of the game from the free throw line to get to the final 91-83 margin.

Frank Mason led all scorers with 28 points on 11/18 shooting, including 2/4 from 3-point range and 8/8 from the free throw line.  Mason only had 4 points at halftime.  Perry Ellis added 17 points (5/11 from the floor), Wayne Selden had 13 (7/14), and Jamari Traylor had 12 (4/7).

KU outrebounded Canada 49-42, with Traylor hauling in 10, Ellis 8, and Hunter Mickelson, Frank Mason, and Landen Lucas adding 6 each.

Freshman Carlton Bragg lead KU in steals with 3 in his 13 minutes.  Bragg also pulled down four rebounds but only shot 2/8 from the floor for four points.

The Jayhawks shot 5/18 (27.8%) from behind the arc compared to Canada's 7/21 (33.3%).  Mason and Selden each went 2/4.

Frank Mason led KU from the free throw line, shooting a perfect 8/8.  As a team, KU went 24/31 (77.4%) from the line compared to Canada's 24/34 (70.6%).

I thought I would also mention the minutes distribution.  Perry Ellis, Hunter Mickelson, Frank Mason, Wayne Selden, and Nic Moore started the game (if I'm reading the box score correctly).  Here's how the minutes broke down:

The Jayhawks will rematch with Canada in exhibition match #2 at Sprint Center on Friday night, June 26, at 7 PM.  Once again, the game will not be televised, but you can follow along at kuathletics.com/radio.