By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Jordan Loyd scored 20 points and Billy Baron added 19 as Zenit St. Petersburg beat AS Monaco 85 – 74 on the road to close the double-game EuroLeague week with two wins, both of them in France.
Both Zenit guards delivered the lot from beyond the arc. Baron had 5-8 3-pointers, including the go-ahead basket for the 65 – 67 halfway through the fourth period, while Loyd finished with 5-5 triples, hitting three of them in the last four minutes to pace Zenit safely to victory.
“Best win of the year for me,” Loyd said. “Our team is depleted, they’re hurting, a lot of guys under the weather, but we had the next man up mentality and everybody stepped up – coaching staff and players. I’m really excited.”
After finishing with a season-high 19 points in the win at Zalgiris Kaunas two days ago, former NBA wing Dwayne Bacon set a new scoring-best 20 points vs. Zenit. His team recovered from an early 14 – 31 deficit to get close 43 – 45 at halftime and led 62 – 58 early in the fourth period.
Baron made two triples and Ponitka added one of his own for a 0 – 9 run that gave Zenit the lead. With Loyd joining the 3-point party, the Russian side proceeded to remain hot down the stretch to extend its advantage.
“I’m extremely happy, tonight my players were real fighters,” Zenit coach Xavi Pascual said. “Despite the fact that everything was difficult – Kulagin and Loyd played with fever, Frankamp couldn’t play, Mickey was out, Ponitka with his back…I don’t know why so many problems but we played and fought as a team and this is why finally we won.”
Danilo Andjusic had 15 points for Monaco that lacked Zenit’s shooting touch. Following a splendid game vs. Zalgiris, Mike James had trouble scoring the ball, finishing with eight points on 3-10 shots. He also dished out nine assists.