The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams are well represented at the FIBA Under-20 European Championships.
Dor Saar, a rising sophomore guard for the Black Bears, helped her native Israel to a sixth-place finish at the U20 European Class B women’s tournament held in Oradea, Romania.
Saar averaged 11.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Team Israel, which went 3-4 in its weeklong stay. Saar scored in double figures in five games, including 17 points during Israel’s tournament-opening victory over Great Britain when she made five of six 3-point attempts.
She added 14 points and six assists during a victory over Bulgaria.
Saar led all players in the tournament by shooting 63.3 percent (19 of 30) from beyond the 3-point arc, She ranked third on her team in points per game, second in assists per game and fourth in rebounding.
Two new members of the UMaine men’s basketball team, Mykhailo Yagodin and Vilgot Larsson, are competing in this week’s FIBA U20 Men’s European Championships in Chemnitz, Germany.
Yagodin, a 6-foot-5 guard from Ukraine, and Vilgot Larsson, a 6-8 forward from Sweden, each have played three games so far in the early stages of the weeklong tournament that began Saturday. Each has started one game.
Yagodin has averaged nearly 19 minutes per game for Ukraine, which is off to a 1-2 start with a victory over Spain, and losses to France and Croatia. He provided six points, three rebounds and two assists Monday during a 93-78 loss to Croatia.
Larsson has averaged more than 15 minutes per contest as Sweden also is off to a 1-2 start, with a win over Iceland and losses to Italy and Serbia. Vilgot had his best game in the opener against Italy, coming off the bench to score nine points and grab three rebounds.
Both Larsson and Yagodin are veterans of international play as this tournament marks the fifth time each has represented his country in FIBA competition. The two squared off at last year’s FIBA U20 European Championships, with Yagodin scoring eight points while Larsson scored six points on two 3-pointers as Ukraine edged Sweden 77-74.
Yagodin will join UMaine as a sophomore next season after spending last year with South Plains College of Levelland, Texas, the 2018 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I champion.
Larsson also will be a sophomore at UMaine this fall. He spent the 2017-18 season in junior college at Hill College in Texas.
Husson men add point guard
The Husson University men’s basketball program continued to expand its geographic reach with the recent commitment of 6-foot guard Isiah Hart of Seattle to join the Eagles.
Hart played last winter at Federal Way High School where he averaged five points and eight assists as the team’s starting point guard. Federal Way (27-2) advanced to the Class 4A state championship game before falling to Gonzaga Prep 54-52.
As a junior, Hart played at Chief Sealth International High School in Seattle where he was named his team’s most valuable player after averaging 15 points, four assists and five rebounds per game.
“Isiah is a very solid all-around point guard. He handles the ball well, shoots the three, can play up tempo and can run a team in the half-court,” Husson head coach Warren Caruso said in a press release. “He’s played a high level of basketball in his high school career. We believe he will transition very well to our program.”
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