Incoming Bruin Helps Team USA

PEYTON WATSON HELPS USA’s U19 SQUAD TO GOLD MEDAL FINISH

Incoming Bruins’ freshman registered two blocks off the bench in a win over France

Incoming UCLA freshman Peyton Watson helped the USA Men’s Basketball U19 Team to the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup with an 83-81 win over France in the gold medal game on Sunday in Riga, Latvia.

Watson, who will enter UCLA from Long Beach Poly High School, picked up two blocks in five minutes off the bench in the gold medal contest. The USA squad trailed France after three quarters, 64-59, before outscoring the opposition by a 24-17 margin in the fourth quarter.

Playing in Riga, Latvia, the USA registered a perfect 7-0 record in the international tournament. The United States’ team defended its U19 gold medal performance from 2019.

Watson finished the U19 World Cup having averaged 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game (seven total contests).

Team USA’s route to the gold medal game came after a 92-86 semifinal win against Canada on Saturday, July 10. The USA had advanced to the semifinals after defeating Senegal, 88-58, in a quarterfinal contest on Friday, July 9.

Watson became the first student-athlete from UCLA to represent on the USA U19 Team since Thomas Welsh helped the U19 squad win a gold medal at the 2015 World Championship in Greece (Crete).

Watson is one of three newcomers to the UCLA men’s basketball program in 2021-22, joining incoming freshman Will McClendon from Las Vegas and incoming graduate transfer Myles Johnson (Rutgers University). Both Watson and Johnson played high school basketball at Long Beach Poly (Watson was in the eighth grade during Johnson’s freshman year in high school).