ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV

Arizona fell behind early and trailed exclusively after the first minute of a 99-88 loss to the Lithuanian national “B� team on Wednesday in its first of three exhibition games through the native country of UA centers Motiejus Krivas and Ugnius Jarusevicius.

While playing only 11 minutes for what UA called precautionary reasons because of a foot issue, Krivas had 10 points but no rebounds while forward Ivan Kharchenkov led UA 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. UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Krivas has only rejoined the Wildcats for practices recently and opted to play Krivas lightly Wednesday with another game, against the Ukrainian national team, scheduled for Thursday.

"Mo's had a good summer. He's obviously recovering from a small injury," Lloyd said Wednesday at the postgame press conference. "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."

The Wildcats were also playing without two projected rotation players: Power forward RJ Godfrey, who has been cleared by UA but not the NCAA as a fifth-year player, and point guard JJ Mandaquit, who is still recovering from a foot injury suffered at Washington last season.

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.

Without much help from their projected post rotation, 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 game attracted a standing-room-only crowd of over 2,000 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 tye-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 while playing for the Lithuanian senior national team in Alytus.

Wearing uniforms featuring two navy stripes running down the side and their names under their numbers, the Wildcats trailed 54-37 at halftime and were down by up to 20 early in the third quarter. Arizona went on a 12-2 run to pull within 10 points but still trailed 75-61 at the end of the quarter. They cut it to 10 points again in the fourth quarter but came no closer.

In what was their fifth day and first game of their Lithuanian tour, the Wildcats struggled right away, committing four fouls in the first 1:33 of the game, and trailing 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. "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.

Well-regarded UA freshman guard Caleb Holt struggled offensively, 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.

"The start was embarrassing, but it's not a tragedy," Krivas said. "We have to come back to the hotel, get a good sleep, get recovery, watch a lot of film and learn from it. This loss should make us stronger."