Kentucky Wildcats struggle, R.J. Barrett shines in Canada win over USA: Box Score and Highlights

There will be no gold for USA in the FIBA World Cup after falling to Canada, 99-87. USA will now play in Sunday’s third-place game against Spain, while Italy and Canada square off in the Gold Medal Game.

For the first time in FIBA play, the Americans trailed at halftime thanks to an epic first half by Canadian phenom R.J. Barrett. The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2019 class finished with 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting heading into the halftime break, which had helped Canada build a 45-42 lead.

A quick 6-2 run coming out of halftime put Canada up 51-44, giving USA their biggest deficit of the tournament. Making matters worse was Hamidou Diallo picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter while guarding Barrett. That foul trouble helped keep Diallo from making an impact on the game, as he finished with eight points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Barrett would continue his onslaught in the second half and finish with a tournament-high 38 points on 12-of-24 shooting. He also chipped in 13 boards, five assists and just one turnover. If he reclassifies to 2018, expect Barrett to surge to the top of John Calipari’s recruiting big board.

PJ Washington did have a better outing after his Friday dud. The incoming UK forward finished with 11 boards and 17 points, but did so on 4-of-14 shooting while missing seven free throws. He too was called for his fourth foul in the third quarter, limiting his impact the rest of the way.

Here is the final box score for USA:

Here is a replay of Saturday’s game, as well as highlights from USA’s other wins in FIBA play:

And be sure to follow our Twitter page to get all of the latest Kentucky Wildcats news and analysis.