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Arizona Basketball: Azuolas Tubelis and Ben Mathurin face off at U19’s

By Eric Townsend

TEMPE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 21: Bennedict Mathurin #0 of the Arizona Wildcats high fives Azuolas Tubelis #10 after a three-point shot against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half of the NCAAB game at Desert Financial Arena on January 21, 2021 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 21: Bennedict Mathurin #0 of the Arizona Wildcats high fives Azuolas Tubelis #10 after a three-point shot against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half of the NCAAB game at Desert Financial Arena on January 21, 2021 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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DAUGAVPILS, LATVIA – Arizona Basketball stars Ben Mathurin and Azuolas Tubelis debuted at the FIBA U19 Tournament as Canada defeated Lithuania 81-70. 

It was a good day if you are a fan of Arizona Basketball as sophomores Azuolas Tubelis and Ben Mathurin made their debut at the FIBA U19 Tournament, competing at one of the highest levels for college athletes.

Squaring off as opponents, both Mathurin (Canada) and Tubelis (Lithuania) competed against each other in the opening round of the tournament just ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats /

Arizona Wildcats

Coming into the tournament, both players are primed for big years and could be looking to use the World Cup Tournament as an opportunity to springboard themselves for the upcoming college season.

The future is bright with Arizona Basketball as Azuloas Tubelis and Ben Mathurin showcased themselves at the FIBA U19 Tournament.

From the start, the 6-foot-11-inch forward was impressive. Scoring inside and outside, Tubelis would help propel Lithuania as they would build a 14-point lead in the third quarter. However, the No. 2 ranked Canadians wouldn’t go away, slowly chipping away at Lithuania’s lead and eventually completing the comeback to win 81-70.

However, Azuolas would finish the day putting up a monstrous 32 points with 12 rebounds and four assists on 14-18 shooting.

Unfortunately for Ben, it was a rather challenging game for him as the Montreal, Quebec native struggled. Finishing his day with just four points on 1-8 shooting from the field (1-5 from three), I’m sure Mathurin is looking ahead and trying to quickly forget his struggles.

With the win, Canada will move on to face Japan in Group A play of the Tournament, meanwhile, Tubelis and Lithuania will face off with Senegal on Sunday.

As for other Wildcats in the FIBA Tournament, Oumar Ballo will compete with Mali in this Tournament. His first game will be against Australia later today.

You can catch your Wildcats in action in the FIBA Tournament with ESPN+ or perhaps through other streaming services!

Must Read. On Arizona Basketball. light

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