Mikel Brown Jr., Team USA Hold Off Canada in FIBA U19 World Cup Quarterfinals

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 1:23 PM ET

It's the Fourth of July, so naturally, Mikel Brown Jr. had some fireworks in store for the USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team.

Taking on Canada in the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup, Team USA might not have won in blowout fashion, but they were still able to take down their neighbors to the north with a 108-102 win on Friday at Vaudoise Arena in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Like most of Team USA's outings in the FIBA U19 World Cup, Brown played a big role in capturing the victory. In 30:03 of on-court action, the point guard and incoming Louisville men's basketball freshman finished with 20 points on 5-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 on three-point tries and a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line. He also added eight assists to three turnovers, and two rebounds.

It's a bounce-back game for Brown, who had just three points but four assists in the Round of 16 vs. Jordan. In three group stage games and two games so far in the knockout stage, he is averaging 16.2 points, 6.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds, while shooting 26-of-54 (48.1 percent) from the field and 17-of-32 (53.1 percent) on three-point tries. He's cracked 20 points three times, including a pair of 24 point games vs. France and Cameroon.

Next up, Brown and the United States will face either New Zealand or Switzerland in the semifinals. Tip-off time is set for Saturday, July 5 at a to-be-determined time.