SMNT concludes successful exhibition tour with 97-91 win over Puerto Rico

Canada Basketball's Senior Men's National Team defeated Puerto Rico 97-91 in Biella, Italy on Wednesday to win a third straight game and finish its European exhibition tour with a 4-1 record.

Canada's starters were Anthony Bennett, Melvin Ejim, Tyler Ennis, Brady Heslip and Thomas Scrubb. The full SMNT preliminary roster is available at http://basketball.ca/en/news-article/2016-mens-national-team-camp-roster

Ejim led Canada with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Heslip added 20 points to go with 4 assists and 4 boards. Canadian guards Cory Joseph and Ennis each had a game-high 5 assists.

Both teams were red hot from the outside, with Canada shooting 13/26 and Puerto Rico going 8/17 from beyond the arc. Heslip led all the SMNT with four three-pointers, followed by Ejim and Scrubb with three apiece.

Canada, which had trailed 31-29 after the first quarter, finished the half on a 15-8 run to take a 56-49 advantage into the break. The SMNT stretched its lead to 77-68 through three quarters and held off a late charge from Puerto Rico, who were just one point behind Canada, at 91-90, with five minutes to play.