Ole Miss’ Saiz Helps Spain to Silver Medal at U20 European Championship

Ole Miss Men's Basketball vs LSU on Wednesday night, January 15th, 2014 in Oxford, MS.

Ole Miss Men’s Basketball vs LSU on Wednesday night, January 15th, 2014 in Oxford, MS.

HERAKLION, Greece — Ole Miss sophomore forward Sebastian Saiz finished with 6 points and 8 rebounds, as Spain fell 65-57 to Turkey in the gold medal game at the FIBA Under-20 European Championship Sunday.

Saiz and Spain claim the silver medal, its eighth-consecutive podium finish, and finished with a 7-3 record at the tournament, having won a bronze medal and finished with a 6-4 record at last year’s competition, where Saiz also represented Spain.

The Madrid native appeared in all 10 games, starting the last six and logging 21.2 minutes per game. He was fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.3 points per game, and second in rebounding, averaging 6.9 rebounds per game.

Saiz recorded two double-doubles with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a 60-58 second-round win over Greece and 13 points and 12 rebounds in a 63-61 semifinal win over Croatia. He also scored 10 points in a 65-53 first-round win over Germany and grabbed a personal-best 14 rebounds in a 76-59 second-round win over Great Britain.

As a freshman, Saiz played in all 33 games with 13 starts, averaging 5.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game. He scored in double figures three times, including a career-high 20 points in an 88-74 overtime win over LSU. He pulled down double-digit rebounds in five games, as he finished second on the team and fifth among Southeastern Conference freshmen in rebounding.