KIGALI, Rwanda -- Creighton freshman Arthur Kaluma scored 11 points and added five rebounds to help the Uganda National Team to an 80-68 win over short-handed Nigeria on Tuesday at AfroBasket 2021.

Uganda entered the game No. 90 in the FIBA World Rankings, while Nigeria was No. 23. The Nigerian team is coached by former Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown and last month defeated eventual Olympic Gold Medalist United States in an exhibition game played in Las Vegas prior to the start of the Tokyo Olympics. However, that Nigerian team featured eight NBA players who are not competing in AfroBasket due to the proximity of the upcoming NBA season.

On Tuesday, Nigeria raced to a 24-12 lead after one quarter and pushed the margin to 44-31 by halftime. After Nigeria closed within nine points (45-36), Kaluma drained a  three-pointer to return the lead to double-figures. Uganda led 67-49 after three quarters and cruised to one the biggest victories in the nation's history, and its first quarterfinal bid in the FIBA AfroBasket Tournament.

 Kaluma finished his night with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in nearly 30 minutes of action. Through four games at AfroBasket, Kaluma is averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Robinson Opong led Uganda with 19 points, including six three-pointers, and Toronto Raptors guard Ish Wainright added 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Silverbacks..

Nigeria was paced by 23 points from Uzodinma Utomi and will miss the AfroBasket quarterfinals for the first time since 1980.

Uganda returns to the floor at 11 a.m. Central on Thursday, Sept. 2, when it meets Group A winner Cape Verde. Cape Verde is ranked 100th in the FIBA World Rankings. Uganda outscored Cape Verde 101-98 on Nov. 29 in Egypt during an AfroBasket qualifier, but that was played before Kaluma was part of the Uganda National Team.