Australia Defeats Puerto Rico, Wins Under 22 Championship

Aaron Trahair scored 18 points Sunday to lead Australia to an 88-73 victory over Puerto Rico in the championship game of the Under 22 World Championships.

Puerto Rico featured the backcourt of Carmelo Travieso and Edgar Padilla, the guards who led Massachusetts to the Final Four in 1996.

Yugoslavia beat Argentina 84-72 to win the bronze medal, while the United States beat Turkey 61-58 to take fifth place.

Mike Jones of Texas Christian paced the United States with 15 points. The U.S. team took the lead for good on two late field goals by Pat Garrity of Notre Dame which broke a 51-51 tie.

Cory Carr of Texas Tech finished with nine points and eight rebounds for the United States, while Garrity had eight points and seven rebounds.

The U.S. team, comprised of college players, lost to Australia in the quarterfinals and had no chance at a medal.

“It’s frustrating but nothing can be done about it,” said U.S. coach Rick Majerus of Utah. “We were overmatched but this mattered to us. We tried the best we could and these players are better for it.”