Jacob Furphy fought to make things interesting for Australia late, but Eric Reibe landed the final blows as Germany held on to win the quarterfinal matchup between UConn freshmen at the FIBA U19 World Cup on Friday morning, 80-67, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Germany led by as many as 23 points just after halftime as both incoming Huskies struggled to start the game. Reibe picked up a pair of fouls in the first quarter and was limited for most of the first half, while Furphy – Australia’s captain, leading scorer and most efficient player of the tournament – made just one of his first eight shots from the field, trying to will his team to a win over unbeaten Germany.
A 6-foot-4 wing, Furphy started the Australian comeback in the third quarter as he got his first 3-pointer to fall, beginning a 14-1 run to close the period. He made another triple to start the fourth, which brought Australia to within four.
Reibe had to sit after he picked up his fourth foul with about five minutes left in the game, but returned with two and a half minutes to go and scored six of Germany’s last eight points to seal the victory. The 7-foot center showed off his versatility in the final burst, scoring in the post, then on a reverse layup under the basket and finally with a two-handed alley-oop dunk in transition.
Reibe, set to play a key role as UConn’s second center behind Tarris Reed Jr. next season, finished with 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting, with three rebounds, an assist and two blocks. He posted a plus-15 in the 13-point win.
Germany advanced to play Slovenia in the semifinals on Saturday, the time to be announced. All games in the FIBA U19 World Cup are streamed live for free on the FIBA Basketball YouTube channel.
Furphy came into the quarterfinal averaging 21.3 points (48.5% from the field), 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists through Australia’s first four games. He finished with 13 points (5-for-20), eight rebounds, two assists and three steals on Friday, showing a competitiveness – and a nose for loose balls – that will surely fit in well in Storrs. Australia will play again on Saturday, meeting Israel in a classification game at a time to be announced.
