King Philip's Layman Earns Gold for USA Basketball Team

Former King Philip High standout Jake Layman can now add gold medal winner to his resume.

His U18 United States men's basketball team defeated Brazil, 81-56, in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship gold medal game, in Brazil, Wednesday. 

Layman, who is headed to the University of Maryland, came off the bench in all five wins, scored 38 points, including going 6 for 15 from three-point land for a 7.6 points average. He also add 20 rebounds

The USA team, which averaged 97.2 points a game during the championship while winning its five contests by an average of 38.6 points a game, received scoring from 11 of its 12 players.

At the end of the first half, USA was only leading Brazil by six points, but they dominated in the second half to win the goal.

“I though in the first half they went zone and we got a little stagnant and we turned the ball over way too much. We had some opportunities on some fast breaks that we got nothing out of. The one thing we were fortunate in the first half was they were 9-for-19 from the foul line.,” stated USA and University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan on the USA Basketball website.

“I thought in the second half we got up and down the floor, we were pushing it more; more up tempo, we attacked the basket; we attacked the paint; and I thought our defense was really, really good in the second half. We took away 3-pointers and easy baskets, and that enabled us to get out on the fast break.”