Walden Grove senior Conner Verdugo is guarded by Li Jia Heng. (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)
MORE PHOTOS HERE
June 1-7: Catalina High School
The Lute Olson Select Team Tucson USA beat Team China 69-58 Saturday afternoon in the third day of the Lute Olson & Mo Tangara World Basketball Classic held at Catalina High School. Pool Play will continue until Tuesday, June 6 and Bracket Play will take place on Wednesday, June 7.
Nogales senior Samuel Legleu led all scorers with 22 points and he paced Tucson USA to an early 9-0 lead with three straight 3-pointers. Leglue ended the first quarter with 14 points with Tucson USA leading 21-14.
Tucson USA led 40-26 at the half and 61-42 after three. Tucson USA built a 67-45 lead with 4:35 left but China went on a 13-0 run to close the gap to 67-58 with 1:35 left. Li Jia Heng sparked the comeback with two late 3-pointers but he missed a third attempt that would have cut the lead down to six points with 1:10 left.
Travis Walker (Sabino) secured the victory with a bucket with 44.2 seconds left and Tucson USA held on for the 69-58 win.
Walker finished with 15 points and Cienega senior Jordan Green added 9. China big man Jiao Bo Qiao scored 19 and Heng added 9. Qu Hong Lin scored 8.
Tournament schedule
6A SOFTBALL & BASEBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 5A BASEBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 5A SOFTBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 4A BASEBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 4A SOFTBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 3A BASEBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 3A SOFTBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 2A SOFTBALL/BASEBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION 1A SOFTBALL/BASEBALL ALL-STARS
TRACK & FIELD ALL-STARS
BOYS VOLLEYBALL ALL-STARS
DIVISION III GOLF ALL-STARS
DIVISION I-II TRACK & FIELD ALL-STARS
DIVISION III-IV TRACK & FIELD ALL-STARS
2017 BOYS TENNIS ALL-STARS
2017 GIRLS TENNIS ALL-STARS
BEACH VOLLEYBALL ALL-STARS
2017 SOFTBALL/BASEBALL All-FRESHMAN TEAM
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com
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