Standard Life GB Men lost 63-61 to Lithuania on Saturday evening in their second pre-Olympic warm-up.

 

With Lithuania leading going into the last two seconds, Dan Clark just missed a chance to win it at the buzzer, as his three from way beyond the arc rimmed out. Kyle Johnson led GB with 12 points, Clark supported with 11 and Joel Freeland hit 10.

 

After the game, head coach Chris Finch knew instantly what areas the team needed to improve on but is confident that the side can succeed on making those enhancements: "I thought we played well, we outplayed them with exception of a couple of minutes at the beginning and a few minutes down the stretch where they made the big plays and we didn't.

 

"Right now, we just are not making winning plays at the end of the games. Making lay-ups, making free throws, making shots, getting stops and getting rebounds, we've got to find a way to do that because with the Olympics coming up we will be involved in a lot of tight games."

 

GB got off to a slow start but picked up the pace as the first quarter wore on and after ten minutes, they led 17-12. Lithuania came back in the second quarter thanks to Sarunas Jasikevicius and they tied the game at 37-37 headed to the locker rooms at half-time.

 

In a physical third period, GB edged ahead to lead 54-53 going into the fourth quarter which was low scoring but fiercely competitive as neither team wanted to lose. The game was tied at 59-59 when Jasikevicius was called for a technical foul. Both foul shots were converted but GB failed to score on the ensuing possession and Lithuania would score the last four points to claim victory.

 

Standard Life GB player, Joel Freeland commented on the loss: "We went out and played hard, wanting to get the win but couldn't pull it out. We have got to start winning these close games as we've lost too many close games like this."

 

Drew Sullivan added: "We have shown that we can play against these teams but we have to start winning these games. It's not good enough saying we can play against them, it's not what we care about, we want to win."

 

Paulius Jankunas led Lithuania, who begin their Olympic qualifying tournament campaign on July 3 against hosts Venezuela, with 13 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 points.

 

Great Britain now travel to San Antonio to play Russia on Monday.

 

The GB U20 Men were also in warm-up action on Saturday and they defeated Slovakia for the second day running in Bristol.

 

Ali Fraser had 24 points as GB won 73-48 as they build up to the Division B European Championship that begins on July 12. The damage was mainly done in the first quarter, after which GB led 28-8.