BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Three Hilltoppers will represent their countries in the FIBA under-20 European Championship beginning Tuesday in Italy.
Junior Ben Lawson and freshman Nathan Smith will suit up for Great Britain, and freshman Kristaps Gluditis will play for Latvia. Great Britain begins play Tuesday against Turkey, and Latvia starts competition Tuesday versus Greece. Both Great Britain and Latvia are scheduled to play four games this week in group play before the next round begins on July 13.
Lawson played for Great Britain in the 2013 U18 European Championship and the 2014 U20 tournament, where he averaged 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He contributed 3.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in the 2013 tournament.
The 2015 tournament will be Gluditis’ fifth at the international level, as he also played for Latvia in the 2011 U16, 2012 U18, 2013 U18 and 2014 U20 European Championships. His high-water mark came in 2011 when he averaged 9.2 points per game.
Smith will be playing in his first international competition ahead of heading to WKU for his freshman season in 2015-16.
More information on the 2015 FIBA U20 European Championship can be found at http://u20men.fibaeurope.com.
Hilltopper Basketball on the Map: With a third-straight 20-win season in 2014-15, WKU and head coach Ray Harper entered into exclusive company.
– WKU and LA Tech are the only schools in Conference USA to win 20 or more games in each of the last three seasons
– The Hilltoppers are one of just 46 schools in the nation to currently have a streak of three-straight 20-win seasons
– Ray Harper joins 21 other head coaches since 2000-01 to record three 20-win campaigns in his first three full seasons as a Division I head coach
How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUBasketball on Twitter, at WKUBasketball on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUBasketball.
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