Pac-12 All-Stars conclude exhibition tour with 93-63 setback to Australia Olympic Team

MELBOURNE, Australia – The rematch between the Pac-12 All-Stars and the Australia Olympic Team provided another electric atmosphere inside Hisense Arena in Melbourne Thursday evening.
 
The Australia Olympic Team, which added the services of Matthew Dellavedova of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and starter Chris Goulding since Tuesday’s contest, defeated the Pac-12 All-Stars 93-63 in front of another packed house at Hisense Arena. 
 
“I am very proud of this group,” Pac-12 All-Stars head coach Mike Montgomery said. “We had a couple days of practice and then played these games. They performed well against a veteran team in Australia. Our guys accepted the challenge and I was pleased with each and every one of these guys. We are very appreciative these guys gave up part of their summer to play with this team. It was a lot of fun to coach them.”
 
Arizona State’s Tra Holder and Utah’s Lorenzo Bonam paced the Pac-12 All-Stars with nine points apiece. Arizona’s Kadeem Allen and Oregon State’s Drew Eubanks added eight points apiece for the All-Stars. Eubanks and Colorado’s Wesley Gordon led the conference all-star group on the boards with six rebounds each. Holder guided the Pac-12 All-Stars with four assists on the night.
 
The Australia Olympic Team, also called the Boomers, got production throughout its lineup in its final exhibition appearance in its homeland before heading to Rio next month.
 
Australia’s Patty Mills, who plays for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, poured in a game-high 29 points, which included five three-pointers.
 
The Boomers opened an early lead, taking advantage of a cold-shooting Pac-12 All-Stars (4-of-16 from the field) in the first quarter.
 
Holding a 22-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes, the Boomers looked to increase their advantage. However, the Pac-12 All-Stars refused to go away, responding with a 7-1 run to cut it to 24-17 midway through the second quarter.
 
The Pac-12 All-Stars kept it within single digits for most of the first half, before Australia pushed its lead to 40-28 at the break.
 
Mills took over for Australia in the third quarter, collecting eight of his 29 points in the third period alone. He extended the Boomers’ lead to 53-36 with a four-point play midway through the third.
 
The Pac-12 All-Stars fought into the end, with several highlight-reel plays throughout the contest. Allen took control of the offense early in the game with an acrobatic up and under move over several of Australia’s post players to get to the rim for the bucket. Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson navigated his way to the basket with a nice spin move in the paint in the fourth to provide a late highlight for the Pac-12 All-Stars.
 
Thursday’s contest concluded the Pac-12 All-Stars’ tour of Australia. A trip that began on July 5 in Los Angeles will conclude Friday morning as the conference’s all-star group arrives back in the United States and returns to their respective campuses. The trip provided many cultural experiences and created bonds between conference mates that will last a lifetime.