David Andersen sank two free throws Saturday to give Australia a come-from-behind 76-75 victory over Jordan in its opening match at the basketball world championship.

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Andersen finished with 22 points and center Alex Maric led Australia with 23, while forward Zaid Abbas led Jordan with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Rasheim Wright added 16 points for Jordan but missed a layup in the final seconds that could have given his team a surprise win. Jordan could not claim the rebound, and Australia held on to win a game in which it trailed for three quarters.

“We were very lucky to escape with a win,” Australia coach Brett Brown said. “We recognize we were fortunate to claw back and snatch a win.”

Jordan did not practice or play a game for eight months after the country’s Olympic committee suspended the basketball federation for “administrative and financial violations” and the team did not get together again until shortly before the championship.

“It was a disaster,” Jordan coach Mario Palma said. “We are trying to recover from this disaster, but we are not in the shape we are supposed to be. Most of my players have not played an official game for eight months.

“Otherwise, maybe we could have beaten Australia today, we lost a big opportunity. We can play hard against any team. Maybe we can’t beat them all but we can give them tough games. We can compete against any team here,” Palma said.

Maric’s second-attempt layup with the last shot of the third quarter gave Australia its first lead of the game at 56-55. Maric then scored his team’s next six points to keep the Boomers afloat. Maric and Andersen added nine rebounds each.

“They really exposed us inside in the second half,” said Jordan’s guard Osama Daghles, who had nine assists and seven points. “But we gave it away.”

Jordan’s biggest lead was 11 points and Daghles was still shaking his head in disbelief long after the game. He had a turnover that produced Matt Nielsen’s layup that put Australia within one and then missed a layup with 13 seconds left. Jordan fouled and Andersen sank the two free throws that won the game.

“Jordan had a great game,” Maric said. “We had to play catch-up all the time. They did the basic things very well.”

Coach Brown said Australia’s young players “played young, but we are looking forward to playing Argentina tomorrow.”

Jordan plays Serbia in Group A on Sunday.