US clinches Olympic quarterfinal spot in men’s hoops by beating South Sudan

By TIM REYNOLDS

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — In the rematch, the U.S. had an easier time with South Sudan than it did when the teams first met a couple of weeks ago.

Easier. Not easy.

The U.S. clinched a trip to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics by beating South Sudan 103-86 on Wednesday night — a game that wasn’t ever really in doubt but was no romp either. Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and Kevin Durant had 14 for the Americans, who took control with a 25-4 run in the first half.