Incoming Maryland freshman Kevin Huerter rebounded from a bad shooting performance against the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday with an impressive game Thursday against host Chile in the U-18 FIBA Americas tournament.
The 6-6 shooting guard from Clifton Park. N.Y., coming off a game in which he missed seven of nine shots from the field, including six of seven from 3-point range, made five of eight shots overall, four of seven on 3-pointers, in a 70-50 victory. Huerter finished with a team-high 14 points in just over 20 minutes.
"We definitely didn't have our best game, but in front of a hostile crowd like that, they played really well," Huerter told USA Basketball. "We faced adversity in the first half. We weren't making shots. They were in the game with us, we were down a couple of points, but we pulled it out. I think we showed a lot about our team with this win."
After coming into the game with four minutes left in the first quarter and scoring his first basket with 17 seconds remaining in the quarter, Huerter scored his remaining 12 points – all on 3-pointers – before halftime. Only foul trouble – he had four at halftime – hampered Huerter in the second half.
"My shot had not been falling the first two games, but the coaches said to be ready and to come off the bench and make shots," Huerter said to UMTerps.com. "My teammates did a great job driving and kicking out and providing me with some great open looks and opportunities."
Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, an assistant to Texas coach Shaka Smart on the U.S. team, was pleased to see Huerter's breakout performance.
"Kevin responded in a really loud and hostile environment," Turgeon said. "I don't know where we would have been at halftime [leading 30-27] without Kevin. He made some really big shots for us tonight."
Smart said of Huerter's shooting, "That was huge, because we were struggling to make shots.
"We were not getting the ball inside as much as we wanted to; they were packing it in. Kevin went in, and he changed the whole complexion of the game. In fact, he changed the game so much that they went to a box-and-one for the rest of the game when he was in, which made it easier for our other guys. He was definitely the MVP on the offensive end tonight."
The unbeaten U.S. team (3-0 in Group B) will play Brazil (2-1 in Group A) in the semifinals Friday.
The championship will be held Saturday.