Game Summary

Turning Point: With Poland up 62-54 early in the fourth quarter, the EuroBasket hosts went on a 11-2 run to take command.

Heroes: Poland forward Michal Ignerski buried three-consecutive three pointers in that winning surge to bring the crowd at the Centennial Hall to its feet. He finished with 16 points while teammate Maciej Lampe poured in a game-high 22.

Stats: Lithuania were one of 8 (13%) from the free-throw line at the break and finished nine of 20 (45%).

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Poland rode their incredible home-court advantage to another victory at the EuroBasket on Tuesday in Wroclaw.

Taking on a determined Lithuania, the Poles got strong performances from Maciej Lampe and Michal Ignerski to prevail 86-75.

Because Poland won against Bulgaria on opening night, they are now 2-0 and headed to the Qualifying Round in Lodz while Lithuania, one of the pre-tournament favorites to reach the podium, are in an 0-2 hole heading into their game against the Bulgarians.

David Logan had 19 points in one of the biggest win in Polish basketball history.

"We played our best game yet since we have been together as a team," said Lampe, who had 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half.

"We executed our offense and we played good defense.

"We took Lithuania out of their comfort zone and we played good tactically."

With Poland up 62-54 early in the fourth quarter, the EuroBasket hosts went on a 11-2 run to take command for good.

Ignerski buried three consecutive three-pointers in that winning surge to bring the crowd at the Centennial Hall to its feet.

He finished with 16 points while new Polish guard David Logan contributed with 19.

Lithuania, who were looking for their first win after their loss to Turkey, were just four of 18 (22%) from long range and finished nine of 20 (45%) from the free-throw line.

"We played terrible," said Lithuania coach Ramunas Butautas. "We had no defense, no offense. We lost our game.

"They played strong defense. They scored 20 points on fast breaks.

"We lost the battle on the boards.

"Now we have one final chance tomorrow against Bulgaria and we cannot fail."

The Poles enjoyed a strong start and were up 14-2 after four minutes played.

Lithuania tied the game at 27-27 early in the second quarter but the Poles hit back going on a 21-7 surge to take a 48-34 lead shortly after the break.

Marcin Gorat poured in 10 of his 15 points in that run.

Lithuania cut the deficit to six before Ignerski's hot-hand punished them.

Poland outrebounded Lithuania 42-36.

Simas Jasaitis led the Baltic nation in scoring with 21 points on nine of 11 (82%) shooting from the floor.

Poland finished an impresive 27 of 45 (60%) from two-point range.

Lithuania will be looking to bounce back from an 84-76 defeat to Turkey when they meet tournament hosts Poland on day two of the EuroBasket Group D action in Wroclaw.

Ramunas Butautas' men remained close to Turkey only to see their hopes of clinching a victory fade away when Bogdan Tanjevic's team went ona 13-5 run early in the fourth quarter to take command.

Lithuania struggled on defense and turned the ball over in crucial stages of the game.

"I'm sure we can play better," said Butautas. "My players need to put behind them the defeat against Turkey and concentrate on our next game against Poland.

"We made too many turnovers against Turkey and my players were nervous in the final minutes of the game, playing too fast.

"I am confident we will play better against Poland."

Lithuania have quite a task on their hands.

The hosts looked formidable a gainst Bulgaria, winning that clash 90-78.

With Poland leading 17-16, the EuroBasket hosts scored nine unanswered points as part of a 27-9 run to take a commanding 44-25 advantage and stayed on top the rest of the way.

While Lithuania like to run, they may have to slow the game down against the Poles who drew praise from their coach, Muli Katzurin.

"We played a great first half," said Katzurin.

"Our defense was excellent.

"It was very important for us to start well and now we face Lithuania, who need no introduction."

Last Time Out:  Poland have won just once against Lithuania and that was at EuroBasket 1997 with an 88-69 triumph.
 
Stats: Poland were 10 of 24 (42%) from three-point range in their triumph over Bulgaria while Lithuania finished nine of 25 (36%) from long range in defeat to Turkey. Lithuania  made six of their 15 turnovers in the final quarter.

Key Match-Up: Lithuania's Robertas Javtokas vs Poland's Maciej Lampe
The two centers are familiar with each other as both are with Russian Superleague clubs. Javtokas is on the books of Dynamo Moscow and Lampe plays at BC Khimki. Lampe ha an all-round solid game against Bulgaria with 17 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
X-Factor: Lithuania's sharpshooter Tomas Delininkaitis disappointed against Turkey, making just one of his six (16.7%) three-point attempts. He was limited to just five points.

Sounding-Off: "We will try to avoid making the same mistakes as we did against Turkey. We need to play aggressive defense and limit our turnovers. I know Poland's Maciej Lampe from the Russian Superleague and I will try to stop him." - Lithuanian center Robertas Javtokas.