Lithuania scores 101 points in rout over Senegal

LITHUANIA established a 9-point lead with just over two minutes played and basically never looked back, routing Senegal 101-47 in Group H play with seven players scoring in double figures.

For Senegal, their first two possessions on both ends of the floor (a turnover, followed by a foul, followed by another turnover, followed by another foul) proved to be somewhat of a microcosm of their game at-large.

Struggling to turn defence into offence and instead settling for contested jump shots, the Senegalese were unable to consistently leverage their length and athleticism into easy points, a non-start which proved disastrous on a day when they shot 1-of23 from three.

On top of holding Senegal to 47 points in 40 minutes on 28 percent shooting, Lithuania’s defence was nasty with its cleanliness.

The men in green and gold defended without recording a single foul in the first frame, and Senegal finished the game with only eight free throw attempts to Lithuania’s 31, which the morning’s clinicians converted at an extremely impressive 90 percent clip.

When it appeared as though Senegal might string together a run midway through the second quarter after scoring back-to-back fastbreak baskets with Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis on the bench, Sabonis re-entered the game and immediately put a stop to the minor bleeding with this spirited and-one:

Sabonis and Valanciunas led Lithuania with 13 points each. Sabonis also added seven rebounds and three assists in his World Cup debut.