Arizona Wildcats beat Lithuanian senior team 88-74 in final game of exhibition tour

Behind a game-high 30 points from forward Ivan Kharchenkov, Arizona beat a combination of Lithuanian “A” and “B” players 88-74 on Saturday at Alytus Arena despite playing with a shorthanded lineup again.

Arizona finished its first-ever trip to Lithuania, where it has a strong recruiting connection, at 2-1. The Wildcats lost to the Lithuanian B team 99-88 on Wednesday but beat Ukraine’s national team 107-85 on Thursday and the Lithuanian A/B team by 14 points on Saturday.

"It's a great win, great bounce back after the loss to Lithuania B team," said UA center Ugnius Jarusevicius, who was playing Saturday in his hometown of Alytus. "I think we played well today. We rebounded well. I think we came out with a different energy."

It was a flip-flop of energy, the way UA coach Tommy Lloyd described it. While the Wildcats were undoubtedly playing better Saturday, Lloyd said the Lithuanian team did not match the spirit of its "B" team in the Wednesday night game.

"The first game we played bad, and I'll say this: I don't care if you call that team the B team or whatever," Lloyd said. "That team played incredibly hard. They were focused. They had great spirit. They got a lead on us and kind of made us question ourselves. It was our first game, but there's no excuses."

The Wildcats shot 48.5% from the field on Saturday and outrebounded the Lithuanians 39-31, scoring 20 second-chance points off 11 rebounds while making the locals work for their scoring.

Lithuania shot just 39.6% from the field while leading scorer Augustas Marciulionis, a two-time WCC player of the year at Saint Mary's, shot just 5-for-14 while scoring 15 points.

During a postgame news conference with Lithuanian media, the audio of which was provided by Arizona, Lloyd went on to offer perspective of what he's seen during 30-plus years of watching Lithuanian basketball.

"I have so much respect for Lithuanian basketball, and you guys know that," Lloyd said. "I've said it 100 times ... Lithuania basketball used to have the strongest spirit in the game, and you were always playing for something much bigger than yourself. Today, I know we were a bunch of college kids. I didn't feel that spirit from our opponents. I felt it the first night.

"Hopefully you guys can find that because when you have a strong spirit and a connection to the program and understand what you're representing, it really, really, really matters."

The Wildcats were playing at the 5,500-seat Alytus Arena before a crowd of 2,843 that included former Wildcat forward Cedric Henderson, who is playing for Lithuania’s BC Siaulial, in the hometown of UA center Motiejus Krivas.

Both Krivas and Jarusevicius ended their trips home on a high note. Krivas had 15 points and nine rebounds over just 22 minutes -- having been limited in playing time on the trip while recovering from a foot issue -- while Jarusevicius had 14 points and eight rebounds while making 8 of 9 free throws.

"Itt's kind of crazy being a senior, coming to Arizona and then coming on the year that they're going back home," Jarusevicius said. "Being back on the home floor, it feels great. Definitely an amazing opportunity."

Their efforts helped offset the Wildcats' limited active roster. Not only was Arizona playing again without forward RJ Godfrey (NCAA suspension) and guard JJ Mandaquit (foot) but the Wildcats also had to sit out freshman wing Maksim Brnovic after he took a hard fall in Arizona’s loss to the Lithuanian B team on Wednesday.

After slamming his head on the floor while driving for a layup Wednesday, Brnovic received stitches on his chin, then sat out UA’s game Thursday against Ukraine and Saturday’s game against Lithuania.

Lithuania, meanwhile, was playing without former UA standout Azuolas Tubelis, who watched the game in a black Lithuania hoodie and hugged all the current Wildcats in the postgame handshake line.

UA's player shortage led Lloyd to start redshirt freshman Bryce James on Thursday and Saturday, with James joining point guard Derek Dixon, guard Caleb Holt, Kharchenkov and Krivas in the starting lineup against Lithuania on Saturday. Lloyd played freshman wing Cameron Holmes off the bench, while Dixon played all but 37 seconds of the first half.

James finished with five points and two rebounds in 12 minutes while Holt had seven points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Thanks in part to 12 points from Kharchenkov, the Wildcats took a 23-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lithuanians outscored UA 25-20 in the second quarter, and took a brief 33-31 lead midway through the quarter, though the Wildcats hung on to a 43-37 halftime lead.

After wrapping up the trip Saturday, the Wildcats will need more energy to survive their trip home: Lloyd said their bus was scheduled to leave at 3 a.m. local time for a ride to the Vilnius airport, where they will face an all-day journey to return home in time for the start of the fall semester on Monday.

Lloyd said the Wildcats would take a week or two away from basketball before beginning to prepare for the regular season that begins on Nov. 2 against UCLA in Las Vegas.

"We're thankful for the amazing time we've had here," Lloyd told the Lithuanian media. "We're also looking forward to getting on the flight and getting home. It's been a long summer."