Arizona Wildcats recover from humbling loss to beat Ukraine national team 107-85

"It's not a tragedy," the Lithuanian center said of UA's 99-88 loss to the Lithuanian national team Wednesday. "This loss should make us stronger."

Less than 24 hours later, the Wildcats did appear improved. In what was the complete opposite of their game Wednesday, they led the Ukraine national team after the first minute and never trailed in a 107-85 win Thursday at Kėdainiai Arena, about an hour from the team’s base in Kaunas.

"We really challenged them to have a collective response," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Thursday in audio provided by Arizona. On Wednesday, "we played a good team that was well organized and a little bit more sophisticated than we were at this point. They got off to a good start, and we didn't, and we kind of splintered a little bit."

Lloyd noted that Ukraine was without its best player but that they had been having success as a national team. "So for us to come out and play that way was pretty impressive," he added.

Despite several personnel issues, the Wildcats shot 53.6% from the field, hit 8 of 15 3-pointers and outrebounded Ukraine 26-20. Ivan Kharchenkov led the Wildcats with 24 points despite sitting out much of the fourth quarter after a collision late in the third quarter that appeared to hurt his left ankle.

Arizona was also giving limited minutes to Krivas, who has been dealing with a foot issue this summer, and the Wildcats have also been playing in Lithuania without projected rotation players RJ Godfrey and JJ Mandaquit. A fifth-year forward ruled eligible by a Georgia court ruling, Godfrey has been cleared by UA but not the NCAA, while Mandaquit is still recovering from a foot injury suffered as Washington's point guard last season.

According to Scarlet & Black's Austin Massey, the NCAA has suspended Godfrey for four games because he signed a pro contract and played in the Reese's college all-star game. Plaintiffs in a Georgia case that included Godfrey are asking the court to order the NCAA to show cause, and for Godfrey to be immediately cleared so he can play in Lithuania. 

In addition, reserve forward Mabil Mawut did not make the trip because of visa concerns; as a native of South Sudan, he might have faced complications on his return.

While the Wildcats struggled so much against the Lithuanian B team on Wednesday that Lloyd suggested they might not be a good test for the Lithuanian national team on Saturday — and Lithuania might actually sub in the B team again Saturday — the Wildcats had no trouble with Ukraine’s senior team.

Kharchenkov hit a 3-pointer and layup within the first 63 seconds, and Krivas scored inside to give the Wildcats an early 7-3 lead. They led 33-24 at the end of the first quarter and 60-44 at halftime, while Lloyd went deep into his bench throughout.

Lloyd started reserve guard Bryce James along with Kharchenkov, Krivas, Derek Dixon and Caleb Holt. While Holt started off struggling from the field as he did Wednesday, making just 1 of 8 field goals in the first half Thursday, the highly regarded freshman finished with 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting.

Dixon added 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting while dishing four assists, and reserve center Ugnius Jarusevicius had 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting. James finished with five points on 1-for-3 shooting but picked up five fouls. Lloyd also played walk-on guard Addison Arnold for 11 minutes.

Krivas played 15 minutes Thursday after playing only 11 on Wednesday in Arizona's 99-88 loss to the Lithuanian B team, when Kharchenkov again led UA in scoring, that time with 25 points.

Krivas missed most of the 2024-25 season with a foot/ankle injury but is expected to be at full strength for the start of the regular season. After Wednesday's game, Lloyd said Krivas had only rejoined the Wildcats for practices recently.

"Mo's had a good summer. He's obviously recovering from a small injury," Lloyd said. "I think he's looking pretty close to 100% to me. But we're preparing for a long season and Mo is going to be a really important part of the season."

Without much help from their projected post rotation Wednesday, the Wildcats were dominated from all levels offensively and on the glass by the locals.

Lithuania shot 49.2% from the field while making 11 of 22 3-pointers, went to the free throw line seven more times than Arizona did and outrebounded them 49-31, scoring 14 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds. Lithuania made 22 of 33 free throws while UA was 17 for 28 from the line.

"Their experience as basketball players showed and it's a great learning experience for us," Lloyd said. "I knew today was going to be a difficult game for us. It didn't matter if it was the A team or the B team. I knew it was going to be tough and these players have a lot to prove."

Krivas, who grew up playing within the Lithuanian federation and for the prestigious Zalgiris club in Kaunas, noted that the "B" team players have mostly been playing professionally around the country in Lithuania's first and second leagues.

"I feel like we knew what was coming," he said, "but all of the players didn't know fully what was coming."

The Arizona-Ukraine game was not well attended, but the Wildcats' game Wednesday against the Lithuanian B team attracted a standing-room-only crowd of about 2,500 inside the compact Jonava Sports Arena, located about a half-hour away from the Wildcats’ hotel in Kaunas.

A handful of fans wore Arizona’s tie-dye red-and-blue shirts that the Wildcats wore for warmups, but the crowd was overwhelmingly in favor of the locals, a collection of national team players of varying ages.

The spectators included former Wildcat standout Azuolas Tubelis, who is scheduled to face them on Saturday if Lithuania's senior team still plays the game scheduled in Jarusevicius' hometown of Alytus.

Wearing specially designed uniforms for their Lithuanian trip in both games, the Wildcats trailed 54-37 at halftime of their first game and were down by up to 20 early in the third quarter. They committed four fouls in the first 1:33 of the game, and trailed 30-19 at the end of the first quarter.

"Hopefully our guys will get a little more comfortable with how the games are officiated," Lloyd said Wednesday. "We haven't done a scrimmage with referees or anything, and that's my fault. I mean, you can't start a game fouling on the first four possessions because your starters are generally your stronger players."

Kharchenkov, starting at power forward without Godfrey available, picked up two early fouls while the Wildcats fell behind 14-7 early and by up to 18 points in the first half. He led the Wildcats in first-half scoring with 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, but played only 13 minutes because of his early fouls

Lithuania shot 50% from the field over the first two quarters, scored 11 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Wildcats 29-16. Lithuania also made 6 of 13 3-pointers in the first half while Arizona missed all seven it took.

Holt struggled offensively against the Lithuanian B team, shooting just 1 for 9 from the field in the first half, but warmed up after halftime and finished with 13 points on 5-for-16 shooting. Point guard Derek Dixon had 10 points, four assists and no turnovers in his UA exhibition debut.

But on Thursday, Arizona had assists on 23 of their 38 made field goals, turning their efficiency around in the manner that Lloyd was glad to see.

"In the first game, it was kind of an every man on his own type of approach, which is not how we play," Lloyd said. "Today we are much better on the glass at both ends of the floor, so you know. It was great. It felt like Arizona basketball again, and Arizona basketball in August doesn't happen often. I felt like we took a good step forward today."