By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Zenit St. Petersburg got a big win in Vilnius over Lietuvos Rytas 98 – 96 on Day 1 of the Top 16 7Days EuroCup. With this victory, the Russians are on top of Group F, tied with Fiat Turin.
The key: Loukas Mavrokefalidis and Lietuvos recovered the lead with less than a minute remaining (93 – 94) but Sergey Karasev (16 points) put Zenit back ahead with two clutch free throws. Travis Peterson had the chance to win it from three-point territory but he missed.
The Lithuanian squad took a 9-point lead (17 – 26) at the end of the first but the guests’ reaction was impressive. With Lietuvos in charge 25 – 35 (15′), Zenit went into a 20 – 4 run to get a small advantage at the break. Kyle Kuric commanded the response with 15 points in the second quarter.
The game continued close from wire to wire but at the end, Zenit won the free throws Russian roulette.
Not enough: Mavrokefalidis had 22 points (16 in the second half) while Peterson added 19 and 6 boards.
The star: Kyle Kuric had EuroCup career highs in points (30) and PIR (33) to lead his team to the win on the road. Drew Gordon also contributed with 23 points and 8 rebounds.