Indiana University Athletics
Allen, Australia Advance to World Championship Semifinals
8/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 12, 2005
MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina - The Australian Youth Men's Team (the Crocs) moved into the semifinals of the FIBA Under-21 World Championship with an 89-80 overtime victory over Slovenia in the quarterfinals. Indiana freshman Ben Allen finished with five points and eight rebounds in the Crocs victory.
Australia led Slovenia, 21-19, following the first period of play. Slovenia came back in the second to take a 38-34 lead into the locker room. They pushed the lead to as much as eight in the third period, before the Crocs went on a run to end the period with a one-point advantage at 52-51. Slovenia was able to pull even at the end of regulation at 69, but Australia proved to be too much in OT.
Allen finished 2-of-4 from the field, including a 3-pointer. He led the Crocs in rebounding with eight despite fouling out in 19 minutes of action. The Melbourne native also had an assist in the victory.
Aleksandar Maric led Australia with 21 points, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Bard Newley and Steven Markovic each finished with 14 in the Crocs victory. Sasa Zagorac led Slovenia with 25 points, while Domen Lorbek and Ziga Zagorc had 20 and 19, respectively.
In other quarterfinal action at the World Championship, Canada upset the U.S., the top seed from Group B, 93-90, in overtime. The Canadians will face Greece in the semifinals at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday. Greece knocked off Puerto Rico, 88-63, in the quarterfinals. Australia will face the winner of Lithuania and Argentina in the semifinals. The Crocs semifinal match will be at 4:45 p.m. CT on Saturday. IUHOOSIERS.com will continue to track Allen and Australia's progress at the World Championship.
