London, England – Darius Songaila scored 12 points and Linas Kleiza added 11, leading Lithuania to a 72-53 victory over Nigeria in men's basketball.
Rimantas Kaukenas chipped in 10 points for Lithuania, which bounced back from Sunday's 102-79 loss to Argentina in its Group A opener. The Lithuanians shot 54 percent from inside the three-point arc, but made just 3-of-13 from long range.
Nigeria, which edged Tunisia, 60-56, on Sunday to win its Olympic opener, made only 1-of-16 three-point tries and shot 30 percent overall on Tuesday. Ike Diogu, a former star at Arizona State, and Al-Farouq Aminu of the New Orleans Hornets each scored 12 points in defeat.
Aminu's bucket inside tied the score at 8-8 for Nigeria, but Kleiza followed with a shot to ignite a 9-0 Lithuania run. A three-pointer by Sarunas Jasikevicius to start the second quarter capped the burst and gave the Lithuanians a 17-8 advantage.
The lead reached 18 midway through the second quarter, but Nigeria managed to trim its deficit to 34-27 at halftime. It was a five-point game early in the third quarter, but Lithuania pulled away and led by 20 before carrying a 56-40 cushion into the fourth.
Nigeria never threatened again and Lithuania led by as many as 23 early in the final period.
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