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.