AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Kentuckians Darius Miller and Shelvin Mack struggled in the second game of pool play at the FIBA U19 World Championship on Friday, but the United States did enough to defeat France.

Miller scored two points and Mack missed all five of his field-goal attempts in a scoreless showing during the Americans' 71-55 victory.

Miller, a University of Kentucky sophomore-to-be and former Mason County standout, was 1-for-3 from the field in 14 minutes of play. He also added two rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Mack, a former Bryan Station guard who now plays at Butler, was 0-for-4 from three-point range in 15 minutes. He dished out three assists to go with one rebound and one steal.

Duke guard Seth Curry led a balanced U.S. scoring attack with 12 points. Mack's Butler teammate Gordon Hayward had 11 points and Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs added 10 points.

The United States had more trouble in Thursday's game than in its 106-55 victory over Iran in Wednesday's tournament opener.

The Americans struggled for points in the first half, scoring just 19 points in the first quarter and 16 in the second quarter. They did contain the French team to just 10 points in each of the first two quarters.

The United States shot 41 percent in the first half and held France to 29 percent from the field.

The Americans picked up the scoring out of halftime, tallying 24 points in the third quarter to take a 59-37 lead into the final period.

Andrew Albicy was clearly the best player for France with 15 points — including 12 in the first half — eight rebounds and three steals. Alexis Tanghe was France's leading scorer with 16 points.

The United States, which is already assured of moving to the next round of play, will play Egypt in its final game of pool play.