2013 Nike Global Challenge: Day 2

Welcome back to The Chronicle’s coverage of the 2013 Nike Global challenge. We’ll have live updates from you throughout the three-day tournament at Trinity Washington University in Washington D.C. Follow along with @dukebasketball on Twitter as well.

In case you missed our coverage of day one, check out our live updates from throughout the day and video recap.

9:55 p.m.—The USA South has punched their ticket to tomorrow's championship game, beating the USA Midwest 130-122 in a shootout. The South will take on the USA West in the finale of the Nike Global Challenge. The Midwest will face the USA East in the third-place game.

Grayson Allen finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Tyus Jones had 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting and added 11 assists. Devin Booker had his best game of the tournament by far, scoring 21 points on 8-of-9 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range.

9:38 p.m.—The battle rages on, but the South has started to open up a lead at the Nike Global Challenge. USA Midwest trails USA South 116-110 with 3:18 to play. Don't for a second think this game is without its fair share of defense—this has been arguably the most physical game that has taken place at the Nike Global Challenge thus far. The teams' speed and superior shot making has prevailed in what has turned out to be a great basketball game.

9:28 p.m.—Three quarters in the books here. The South clings to a 90-88 lead. The final 10 minutes will decide which team competes in tomorrow's championship game.

8:53 p.m.—The action has not slowed down for a second here in Washington D.C. USA Midwest now leads USA South 64-59 at the half in a fast-paced thriller. Grayson Allen scored 13 first-half points, Tyus Jones has recovered from a scary injury and scored six points and added six assists. Devin Booker is having his best game of the tournament—he had 13 in the first half as well.

8:37 p.m.—Scary moment here for the Midwest early in the second quarter. Tyus Jones looked to be going in for an easy layup on a fast break, but the South's Devin Booker came from behind and blocked Jones, who hit the floor hard. He stayed on the ground for about a minute to get up and left the game immediately. James Blackmon came on to take his free throws. Jones was on the bench for just seconds before getting back up to check into the game.

8:31 p.m.—The crowd that stuck around here in Washington DC is loving what this game has offered so far. The athleticism, the high-paced action and the intensity from both sides has been a treat for all to watch. USA Midwest leads USA South 35-33 after one quarter of action. Grayson Allen had 10 points in the first quarter, Tyus Jones had eight and Devin Booker nailed a 3-pointer.

8:23 p.m.—The final matchup of the night already appears to be more than worth the wait. USA South and USA Midwest are trading blows in the first quarter in what is shaping up to be the best game of the tournament. The South leads 17-16 with 4:32 left in the first. Grayson Allen has seven early points, including a thunderous slam and a nifty reverse layup. Tyus Jones has six points of his own, including a runner in the lane and a handful of dishes to teammates for assists. Fasten your seatbelts for this one, it has the makings of an exceptional basketball game.

8:03 p.m.—Pan Africa holds on to win a tight one, 77-75 in overtime against Brazil. Brazil had a tough look from 3-point range as time expired, but it fell short to give Pan Africa its first win. Pan Africa will face Canada tomorrow in the fifth-place game. Brazil will square off with France in the seventh-place game.

The USA South and USA Midwest wasted no time taking the floor and will be set to start shortly.

7:52 p.m.—Brazil had two free throws with 3.8 seconds left that could have provided them with a one-point advantage, but the front end rimmed out and Pan Africa missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer. The contest heads to overtime, which will delay the start of the long-awaited matchup between the South and Midwest.

7:35 p.m.—Brazil and Pan Africa are locked in a tight one in the penultimate game of the Nike Global Challenge's second day. Pan Africa leads 64-60 with 2:14 to play. After surrendering a five-point lead in the last two minutes of their first game today against USA Midwest, the African squad is hungrily searching for their first victory of the week. The winner will take on Canada tomorrow in the fifth-place game.

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One of the tournament's most highly-anticipated matchups will tip off around 8 p.m. as the USA Midwest takes on the USA South in the final game of pool play. The winner will capture Pool B and earn a spot in tomorrow's championship game against USA West. The contest will be the first matchup of this tournament that features major Duke targets playing against one another. The South squad features Grayson Allen and Devin Booker, and the Midwest is anchored by point guard Tyus Jones.

6:09 p.m.—One half of tomorrow's championship matchup is set. USA West defeated USA East 99-82 to take Pool A and advance to the championship game, where they will face the winner of USA South and USA Midwest. The East squad made a few spirited comeback attempts throughout the game, but the West got strong performances from Kelly Oubre and Stanley Johnson to come away with the victory.

Class of 2015 prospect Ivan Rabb played a crucial role down the stretch for the West as well, establishing strong position in the post and banging down low for rebounds. After the game Rabb sounded off on his Duke recruitment. Although his parents only began hearing from Duke within the last couple of weeks, his strong play at the Nike Global Challenge could make him one of the next 2015 prospects to receive a scholarship offer from the Blue Devils.

"Coach K has contacted my mom a few times. They were going to offer me, but they wanted to see me perform first," Rabb said.

Rabb played in front of Blue Devil associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski Wednesday, when he averaged 11.5 points and six rebounds in the West's first two victories.

"I think yesterday I played really well," Rabb said. "When you're playing with players this good you don't need to showboat, you just need to go out there and play your game."

After Rabb's final AAU event of the summer in Las Vegas, he said he plans to begin assessing his list of offers and thinking about cutting schools.

5:23 p.m.—The game of runs continues here at Trinity Washington University. The East squad was able to pull within six points nearing the end of the third quarter, but an ill-advised clearpath foul by Chris McCullough gave the West two free throws and possession. USA West has regained momentum here and leads 70-58 with one quarter remaining. Ivan Rabb capped off the quarter with a ferocious putback jam.

5:13 p.m.—Ivan Rabb has converted a few buckets inside as the USA West leads the USA East 60-46 with 3:58 to play in the third quarter. Rabb loves to utilize that drop step in the post, and it is giving the USA East squad fits right now.

4:50 p.m.—The USA East squad was more organized offensively in the second quarter, and even managed to pull the game back to within single digits for a brief moment, but a late run has bumped the USA West's lead back to 19 points at the half. The West holds a 47-28 advantage, largely due to the play of its guards. Kelly Oubre, Stanley Johnson and Justin Jackson lead the way for the West with 10 points apiece.

4:23 p.m.—USA West leads USA East 23-8 after one quarter of play. Overall, it has been a pretty sloppy contest so far. The East has really struggled from the field, but the West has failed to take advantage of several opportunities as well. Ivan Rabb and Elijah Thomas have each converted on opportunities from inside in the early-going, but the West actually spent a good portion of the first period going with a small lineup, leaving both of the big men to rest on the bench.

4:02 p.m.—Lots of big-name coaches on hand for the matchup between the East and the West. North Carolina's Roy Williams is still in the building, as well as Louisville's Rick Pitino, Michigan State's Tom Izzo and first-year USC head coach Andy Enfield.

3:48 p.m.—Final score: Canada 88, France 62. Now onto the first matchup between two American teams in pool play. Both the USA East and USA West come into this game undefeated in pool play—a victory would earn either team a spot in tomorrow's championship game.

3:35 p.m.—Canada leading France 81-62 with about five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Big matchup between two undefeated teams in Pool A coming up next—USA East will take on USA West.

2:08 p.m.—Tyus Jones scored 17 points on 7-of-18 from the floor in a victory against Pan Africa. He added seven assists and three steals in 39 minutes of action. Rashad Vaughn, who is currently uncommitted, scored a game-high 28 points. Indiana commit James Blackmon added 21.

Canada is now leading late in the first quarter of its game against France.

1:36 p.m.—We made the mistake of calling the USA South-Brazil game the best we've seen thus far... USA Midwest and Pan Africa has been an absolute treat to watch. After Pan Africa tied the game with 1:27 to play with a huge 3-pointer, USA Midwest took a late 9-0 run to come away with a 98-91 victory and stay undefeated in pool play.

1:27 p.m.—We've got a back-and-forth battle on our hands between the USA Midwest and Pan Africa. After trailing throughout the second half, back-to-back 3-pointers for the Midwest have given them an 86-85 lead with 2:45 to play. Tyus Jones has been all over the floor in the second half, serving as both a scorer and a distributor for his squad. Both teams have been the beneficiaries of excellent guard play throughout. After watching a slate of blowouts on the first day of competition at the Nike Global Challenge, the second day's games have been tight contests.

12:54 p.m.—The USA Midwest continues to be locked in a tight game in Washington D.C. They went into the half trailing Pan Africa 47-46. Tyus Jones took a more active scoring role in the offense than he did in his team's first victory, scoring 11 first-half points for the Midwest.

12:18 p.m.—Pan Africa is leading the USA Midwest 24-22 after one quarter of play. Abdul Malik Abu leading the way for Pan Africa. Not bad, considering he is currently fasting in observance of Ramadan.

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11:50 a.m.—The USA South completed their comeback against Brazil, escaping with an 83-75 victory. North Carolina commit Theo Pinson led the way for the South, scoring 24 points and adding seven rebounds. Duke commit Grayson Allen went for 16 points in the contest on 5-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-6 from deep. Devin Booker was 3-of-6 from the floor, scoring 10 points in the contest.

Tyus Jones and the USA Midwest team are now underway against Pan Africa. They lead 12-11 with 5:03 remaining in the first quarter. Jones has already hit a runner in the lane and knocked down a long 3-pointer.

11:24 a.m.—Clinging to a tight lead in the fourth quarter, Grayson Allen continues to be a difference-maker for the USA South. Leading by four points against Brazil, the South made a defensive stand thanks to strong perimeter defense by North Carolina commit Joel Berry and a big block by Allen at the 3-point arc to force a shot clock violation. Allen stretched his team's lead back to seven with a 3-pointer on his team's next trip down the floor. It was from well behind the NBA 3-point line.

11:16 a.m.—The first game of day two is the best of the tournament thus far. USA South took the lead in the third quarter and now leads 63-57 with 8:12 to play in the fourth. Brazil could not put up with the South on the glass in the third quarter, and the extra opportunities paid off. Grayson Allen stroked a three and added an alley-oop slam for the South.

10:42 a.m.—A late run by USA South to close out the second quarter has them within a point at the half, trailing Brazil 35-34. Grayson Allen finished the half on the bench, but it was Devin Booker who scored the last five points of the half for the South, knocking down a mid-range jumper from the baseline and then stepping out for a 3-pointer from the wing.

10:33 a.m.—An unbelievable shooting effort by Brazil has them leading Grayson Allen and the USA South 33-26 with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter. The Brazilians led by as many as 16-points, but the USA South began to close the gap in the second quarter. Allen has been a key contributor once again for his team. Devin Booker has not seen as much action yet.

It will be an uphill battle for the South squad as they look to improve to 2-0 in pool play.

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