THE NUMBERS

Tsinghua 87, USyd 65 (19-17, 23-18, 28-14, 17-16).

There were 11 lead changes and 5 ties before Tsinghua pulled away in the 3rd, outscoring USyd 28-14 in the quarter and leading by as many as 24. Tsinghua shot 53.2% from the field to USyd's 35.4%, and outscored them 15-6 on points off turnovers and 10-0 on the fast break.

Tsinghua (清华大学)

• Points: 14 — Xi Taicheng (隰泰诚) — Player of the Game
• Rebounds: 9 — Ou Qiluoqiaowendu (欧祈洛乔文杜)
• Assists: 6 — Shi Kui (石奎)

University of Sydney

• Points: 17 — Archie Ekert
• Rebounds: 9 — Archie Ekert
• Assists: 4 — Brandon Salis

GAME RECAP

Tsinghua opened AUBL26 with an 87-65 win over the University of Sydney, though Australia's first AUBL game was tied 28-28 five minutes before halftime. Tsinghua closed the 2nd on a 14-7 run to lead 42-35 at the break and never gave the lead back.

By the end of the 3rd it was 70-49, and all 11 Tsinghua players who dressed scored. Xi Taicheng (隰泰诚) led the way with 14 points and 8 rebounds, Ou Qiluoqiaowendu (欧祈洛乔文杜) had 10 points and 9 rebounds off the bench, and Shi Kui (石奎) finished with 13 points and 6 assists.

Archie Ekert kept USyd in it early, going 7-of-11 for a game-high 17 points to go with 9 rebounds in the program's AUBL debut.

LOOKING AHEAD

Tsinghua face Waseda on August 4 at 17:00 HKT, where a win takes the group. USyd meet Waseda first, on August 3 at 17:00 HKT, and need the win to stay alive.