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Allan Ray (Villanova / Bronx, N.Y.) shot a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 20 points to lead the 2005 USA U21 World Championship Team (3-0) past Puerto Rico (1-2) 94-79 in the third night of action at the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championship on Sunday night in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Following a day off, the USA resumes play against Nigeria (1-2) on Aug. 9 at 3:00 p.m. (EDT), before closing out preliminary round play against Slovenia (2-1) on Aug. 10 at 12:45 p.m. (EDT).

"We anticipated that it would be a physical and mental challenge because Puerto Rico keeps on coming," said USA and Saint Joseph's University (Pa.) head coach Phil Martelli. "They don't overreact to a score or a deficit. So the early lead for us, in some ways, was like fools gold because we probably got fooled ourselves. Saying that, I thought it was a good opportunity to understand what it feels like to play with a semi-hostile crowd and play three games in three days. I thought we were physically and mentally tired. We were not as sharp as we have been and we obviously have to address that because next weekend is the medal round."

Opening the game on a 16-4 tear, the U.S. seemed to be unstoppable and by the end of the first quarter the USA's lead was 31-14. During the first 10 minutes of play, the North Americans went 10-of-20 from the floor and 6-of-9 from 3-point, receiving 12 points from Allan; while Puerto Rico was limited to 5-of-20 and 0-of-6 from afar.

In what would become a game of spurts, Puerto Rico stabbed back in the second quarter. At the 7:48 mark, Puerto Rico's 7-3 center Peter Ramos, who plays for the NBA Washington Wizards, collected his third foul and went to the bench, while Curtis Withers (Charlotte / Charlotte, N.C.) knocked down both free throws to push the squad's lead to 36-18. But with Ramos on the bench and Puerto Rico playing with a smaller, quicker lineup that thrived on the fast-break and speedy offense, the islanders outscored the U.S. 11-2 to pull back under double digits, 38-29, with 5:11 to play in the half. The teams swapped buckets during the ensuing minutes and Mardy Collins (Temple / Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a layup with 45 seconds to go to put the U.S. up 50-39 at halftime.

Scoring the first five points of the second half, Puerto Rico pulled the reins back, 50-44 at 9:21. See-sawing on equal runs, first 8-0 by each team and then 7-0 by each, with 12:03 to play in the game the USA's lead was still six points, 65-59. On the USA's next possession Collins shot a jumper over Ramos from the charity stripe to spark a 6-2 U.S. run that closed out the quarter with the North Americans up 71-61.

The USA's defense picked up the pressure and intensity, holding Puerto Rico to just seven points in the first 6:34 of the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, on the other end the re-energized defense sparked an offense that saw five different players score and opened up the game 87-68. By the time Puerto Rico found the basket again, a 3-pointer by Angel Vassallo at 3:26, it was too late as the United States remained ahead by no less than 15 points and took the win.

"We knew Puerto Rico was going to come out with a lot of intensity," said Ray. "They came out with great intensity on the offensive end, especially in the second quarter. In the third quarter they came out great again. Coach said that we had a little bit of a mental and physical lapse. We should definitely learn from this game. It was good, we played our three games in three days. We have to get ready for next weekend."

Withers' 12 points and nine rebounds aided the U.S. to victory, along with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds from Terrence Roberts (Syracuse / Jersey City, N.J.) and Taj Gray (Oklahoma / Wichita, Kan.) chipped in 10 points. Rajon Rondo (Kentucky / Louisville, Ky.) passed off for a team-best five assists and added eight points, while Marcus Williams (Connecticut / Los Angeles, Calif.) was credited for a game-high four steals.

Northeastern University's (Mass.) Jose Barea was the game's leading scorer with 21 points, while Vassalo had 17 and Ramos finished with 12. Ivan Lopez grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

The U.S., which shot just 41.9 percent (31-74 FGs) from the field during the game, and a sizzling 47.8 percent (11-23 3pt FGs) from beyond the arc, made just 39.2 percent (20-51 FGs) from 2-point. Puerto Rico, which was limited to 39.5 percent (30-76 FGs) from the field, was held to a paltry 19.0 percent (4-21 3pt FGs) from 3-point.

Acting as Martelli's assistants are collegiate head coaches Dennis Felton from the University of Georgia and James ‘Bruiser' Flint from Drexel University (Pa.).

In other Group B action, Lithuania (2-1) ran past Nigeria (1-2) 110-75 and Slovenia's (2-1) Sasa Zagorac hit a jumper with four seconds remaining to edge China (0-3) 65-63. Group A games, played in Cordoba, saw Greece (2-1) edge out Israel (1-2) 79-75, while Argentina (2-1) thrashed Canada (1-2) 86-46. Australia (3-0) improved to 3-0 due to Iran's forfeit.