THE NUMBERS

Waseda 98, USyd 65 (25-13, 27-11, 14-21, 32-20).

Waseda never trailed and led by as many as 36. Shin Matsumoto scored 36 points and made 8 3s, both AUBL records. Waseda had 27 assists (compared to USyd's 15) on 39 made baskets and turned 22 USyd turnovers (compared to Waseda's 8) into 22 points.

Waseda (早稲田大学)

• Points: 36 — Shin Matsumoto (松本 秦) — Co-Player of the Game
• Rebounds: 8 — Eiji Shimoyama (下山 瑛司) and Takezo Nozu (野津 洸創)
• Assists: 10 — Eiji Shimoyama (下山 瑛司) — Co-Player of the Game

University of Sydney

• Points: 16 — Harrison Evans
• Rebounds: 14 — Harrison Evans, 16-14 double-double
• Assists: 4 — Jesse Weinstein and Keanu Goehring

GAME RECAP

Shin Matsumoto scored 36 points in his first AUBL game, the most anyone has scored in the competition's history, and Waseda beat USyd 98-65 to reach the knockout round.

The game was over by halftime. Waseda led 25-13 after the 1st, and USyd did not score for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd while Waseda put up 12 to lead 52-24 at the break.

Matsumoto went 14-of-23 from the field and 8-of-16 from 3, one more than the 7 Wu Zhi Kai and Lee Hae Sol made in AUBL25, and added 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He scored 13 in the 1st quarter and 13 in the 4th.

Eiji Shimoyama had 10 assists, the most in a game at AUBL26, to go with 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Kenichi Miura (三浦 健一) added 19. Waseda finished with 27 assists on 39 made baskets and 24 fast break points.

USyd took the 3rd quarter 21-14, the only period they won, before Waseda outscored them 32-20 in the 4th. Harrison Evans had 16 points and 14 rebounds and the Australians outrebounded Waseda 44-37, but they went 2-of-16 from 3 and scored no points off turnovers all night.

LOOKING AHEAD

Waseda are into the knockout round and USyd are out at 0-2, ending Australia's first AUBL appearance in the group stage. Waseda close the group against Tsinghua on August 4 at 17:00 HKT, with only seeding left to decide