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July 3, 2009

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Washington State University incoming freshman forward Brock Motum scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds as Australia held on to defeat Spain, 69-62, Friday evening NZDT (Thursday night PDT) in Group C action of the FIBA U19 World Championship.

Four of Motum's six rebounds came on the offensive end as he finished the day shooting 7-for-12 from the field while adding an assist and a steal. A native of Brisbane, Australia, Motum was the second leading scorer for the team for the second game in a row. Ryan Broekhoff led the Australians with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Toni Vicens led Spain (1-1) with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Daniel Perez added 10 points.

Spain scored first for an early 2-0 lead. Australia followed with a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead with 5:52 to go in the first quarter. The Aussies extended their lead to nine at the end of the quarter, 20-11, as Motum hit back-to-back buckets to end the period.

Spain pulled within five points at 26-21 with 5:08 to go in the second quarter, but Australia pushed the lead back to 10, 33-23, at halftime. Both teams had their best offensive outputs in the third quarter as Australia continued to add onto its lead, taking a 14-point, 55-41, lead into the final quarter.

Australia led by 14 points with 4:35 to go in the game, but Spain quickly cut the lead to 10 with 3:55 to go. Spain continued to cut away at the Australians' lead, but only came as close as seven in the final seconds as the Aussies hung on for a 69-62 victory.

Motum and Australia conclude Group C play as they take on Syria, Saturday, July 4 at 11 a.m. NZDT (Friday, July 3, 4 p.m. PDT). Fellow Cougs DeAngelo Casto and Klay Thompson and the USA squad conclude Group B play as they take on Egypt at the same time.