KU's Kaun Leads Russia Basketball Team With 18 Points in 82-80 Loss to Australia

Aug. 6, 2012

LONDON – Former Kansas men’s basketball player Sasha Kaun scored a team-high 18 points for Russia but Australia’s Patrick Mills made a three pointer in the final seconds to give the Aussies an 82-80 victory. The contest was both teams’ final competition in Group B of the 2012 Olympic Games. Despite the loss, Russia (4-1) won Group B play with brackets for the Olympic quarterfinals to be determined following Monday’s final group games.

Against Australia, Kaun, who played at Kansas from 2005-08 and was a key reserve on KU’s 2008 NCAA National Championship team, started and played just over 26 minutes, scoring a team-best 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. The Tomsk, Russia, native also pulled down six rebounds for the game.

Kaun is the first Jayhawk men’s basketball player to participate in the Olympic Games since Danny Manning competed for the United States in 1988, winning the bronze medal. Kaun currently plays professionally for CSKA Moscow and is no stranger to international play. He was also a member of the Russian National Team, which competed in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.

The top four teams from both six-team groups will advance to the single-elimination quarterfinals, which begin Aug. 8.