LIMA, Peru — Who said youth is wasted on the young?
Not for Indiana basketball. Not for its Team USA designation as it continues to roll through the FISU America Games.
With freshmen Vaughn Karvala, Prince-Alexander Moody, and Trevor Manhertz continuing to play beyond their years while veterans such as Darren Harris, Aiden Sherrell, and Sam Alexis keep dominating, Team USA rolled to a 107-40 victory over Chile in Saturday’s semifinals.
“All three of those guys have been good for us,” coach Darian DeVries said about the freshmen. “They play with a lot of confidence. This has been a great opportunity for them to get extra playing time and get some meaningful minutes.”
After scoring 32 points against Virgin Islands on Thursday, Karvala moved into Saturday’s starting lineup along Sherrell, Jaeden Mustaf, Bryce Lindsay, and Markus Burton. He finished with 16. Moody added six points and Manhertz four.
“I love the versatility they bring,” DeVries said. “They’ve continued to get better from the moment they stepped on campus. There’s a ton of room for them to grow into yet. That’s an exciting piece about those guys.”
Harris added 15 points. Sherrell and Alexis each had 14. Trent Sisley totaled 13.
As far as Harris, a Duke transfer, DeVries said, “I think you’ll see that from him as the season progresses and we get in regular season play. He’s one of those guys, when he gets on a heater, it’s pretty special.
“I’m excited about what he’s done up to this point. Where he’s really at is defensively, he’s shown us some things. Then, his offense and rebounding. He’s done a great job of pursuing the ball. He’s had a special knack for that this summer, and especially in these games down here.”
Overall, Team USA has gone 3-0 with three blowout victories. Next up is Virgin Islands in Monday’s championship game. Virgin Islands, which lost to Team USA 120-63 on Thursday, upset Argentina 63-61 in its Saturday semifinal game. Argentina had gone 3-0 in pool play.
As for Saturday’s game, Team USA jumped ahead 8-2, then 11-7. Dunks by Harris and Sherrell, and then a Harris 3-pointer helped Team USA push ahead 24-7. A Sherrell 3-pointer made it 34-12 after the first quarter.
A steal and layup by Burton, and then a whirling Alexis dunk followed by a three-point Alexis play made it 45-12 early in the second quarter. Moody’s 3-pointer made it 51-12. Mustaf’s three-point play gave Team USA a 64-20 halftime lead. Sherrell led with 14 points. Harris added 13 and Alexis 10.
The lead swelled to 50 points in the third quarter. Team USA entered the final quarter leading 83-36 and cruised from there as DeVries utilized multiple different lineups, including walk-ons.
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