Michigan signee Caleb Houstan is putting up big numbers for Team Canada at the FIBA U-19 event, while former Wolverine Moritz Wagner notched 28 for the German National Team to help qualify the squad for the Olympic Games.
Houstan scored 18 points against Lithuania the other day, adding five rebounds and three assists and nailing several triples.
Lithuania led for much of the game and was up by 10 at halftime, TSN.com reported, but Team Canada fought back.
"We got a lot of guys who came off the bench and contributed, and I think that's a good testament to our team, (the ability) to push through against a real good team," Houstan said. "We were down most of the game and came out with the win."
Houstan grabbed eight rebounds in a 100-75 win over Japan Sunday.
"We grinded it out," Houstan said. "It was close in the beginning and we picked up the defense, started offensive and defensive rebounding and then we blew it open mid-third quarter."
Canada will play Senegal Tuesday.
Moritz Wagner, meanwhile, scored a game-high 28 points to lead Germany past Brazil, 75-64, Sunday in the championship game of the Croatia Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Germany has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as a result.
In the final against Brazil, which won its first three games by an average of 23.7 points, Wagner went 9-for-12 from the field and 3-for-6 from long range. He added six rebounds and three steals. He was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 14.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in his four games in Croatia, shooting 65.5 (19-for-29) from the field and 4-for-10 from long range, with three of those triples in the championship game.
Germany won its Group A Phase group after an 82-76 win over Mexico (June 29) and 69-67 victory over Russia (July 1). Wagner posted 11 points and five rebounds in the opener against Mexico and followed with 12 points and three boards against Russia, coming off the bench in both games.
Wagner got into foul trouble against host Croatia in the semifinal and played only 11 minutes, scoring six points. Germany used a fourth-quarter rally to overcome a seven-point deficit, outscoring the Croatians, 30-13, over the final 12 minutes to advance to the championship game, 86-76.
The German National Team will be part of Group B at the Olympic Games along with Australia, Italy and Nigeria. Group A will feature the United States, France, Iran and the winner of the Czech Republic/Greece championship game, while Group C includes Argentina, Japan, Slovenia and Spain.
Preliminary games will begin on Saturday, July 24, and the tournament's quarterfinals will begin Monday, Aug. 2. The gold medal game will be Friday, Aug. 6, with the bronze medal game on Saturday, Aug. 7.
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