Gonzaga’s Mario Saint-Supery closes EuroBasket run with tournament-high 13 points

Mario Saint-Supery finished in double figures for the first time representing Spain’s senior national team, but the Gonzaga guard will be returning to Spokane early after Spain was eliminated from the tournament on Thursday with a narrow 90-86 loss to Greece.

Saint-Supery, who’d made just three appearances for Spain’s senior national team before a late call-up to the country’s EuroBasket roster, came off the bench to score 13 points and help the team stage a late comeback effort against a Greece team led by two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetekounmpo.

The incoming Gonzaga freshman logged 18 minutes in his EuroBasket finale, with a majority of Saint-Supery’s floor time coming in the second half as Spain clawed back from an 18-point deficit to briefly take a two-point advantage in the fourth quarter.

Despite outscoring Greece 51-40 in the second half, Spain fell short of winning its third game in group play and making it through to the knockout round of the EuroBasket event. After Bosnia and Herzegovina’s win over Georgia earlier in the day, Spain, the tournament’s defending champion, needed to beat Greece in order to advance out of Group C.

Saint-Supery was called up to the national team after guard Jordan Brown pulled out of the tournament in July and became a main fixture off coach Sergio Scariolo’s bench at EuroBasket, averaging 16.9 minutes over six games and playing 21 in a start over Cyprus.

The 19-year-old became the youngest Spanish player to compete at EuroBasket since former NBA guard Ricky Rubio made his debut in 2009, mostly splitting point guard duties with Sergio De Larrea, a fellow 19-year-old who plays for Liga Endesa club Valencia.

The Gonzaga guard averaged 8.4 points, 2.8 assists, 1.4 rebounds, 1.2 turnovers and 1.0 steals, shooting 43% from the field, 33% from the 3-point line and 91% from the free throw line.

Saint-Supery delivered a variety of offensive highlights on Thursday, helping Spain stay afloat after falling into a double-digit hole in the first quarter.

The guard delivered a no-look pass to Xabi Lopez-Arostegui for a corner 3-pointer that made it a two-possession game in the third quarter and beat the buzzer at the end of the period with a driving floater over Kostas Antetekounmpo.

Saint-Supery’s pull-up 3-pointer, off a screen set by Willy Hernangomez, tied the game at 71-71 with just over eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and the guard briefly put Spain in front, 84-82, with an off-balanced floater in the lane with under three minutes left. Giannis Antetekounmpo followed with consecutive baskets for Greece, which didn’t trail for the remainder of the game.

The Milwaukee Bucks star had a game-high 25 points and former Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey scored 22 points for Greece, making 6 of 9 shots from the 3-point line.

Saint-Supery signed a financial aid agreement with Gonzaga in June, not long after finishing his professional season with Baxi Manresa of Spain’s Liga Endesa. The Malaga native is expected to compete immediately for playing time in the Zags’ backcourt rotation, along with point guard Braeden Smith, Arizona State transfer Adam Miller and others.