Syracuse recruit Luke Fennell helps Australia to key win in FIBA World Cup

Syracuse, N.Y. ― Syracuse recruit Luke Fennell contributed 13 points off the bench to help Australia to a critical 71-63 win over France at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

Fennell had struggled in Australia’s first two games in the tournament; a loss to the United States and a double-overtime win over Cameroon. The 6-foot-6 guard had averaged 2.0 points on 2-for-9 field goal shooting in those games.

But in the final game in Group play and a game Australia needed to win in order to advance to the Round of 16, Fennell produced his best game thus far.

Australia 71, France 63 (box score)

Fennell scored 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field. He knocked down two of his five 3-point attempts ― all in just 18 minutes.

Fennell also notched one rebound, one assist and one steal in his time off the bench. His +/- of 17 was the highest on the Australian squad.

Jacob Furphy, a Connecticut commit, led Australia with 19 points.

The United States finished atop Group D with a 3-0 record. Australia finished second at 2-1, while France fell to 1-2 and Cameroon wound up 0-3.

Australia will play its Round of 16 game on Wednesday against a team out of Group C, which consists of Israel, the Dominican Republic, Jordan and Switzerland.

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