By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zenit St. Petersburg easily beat Hapoel Jerusalem 101 – 81 for the third round of the EuroCup Top 16 behind 28 points by Ryan Toolson and 16 plus 6 assists by Stefan Markovic.
Amare Stoudemire scored a 22 points season-high while grabbing 5 rebounds and winning 10 fouls but he and his teammates failed to make sufficient stops against the hottest offense in the competition.
Tarence Kinsey added 17 points plus 5 rebounds while Jerome Dyson had 13 for the Israelis.
While the Russian squad had already taken a solid advantage, 52 – 44 at halftime, it took complete control during the third quarter, expanding its lead to double digits and closing the period ahead 79 – 62.
Coach Karasev’s players didn’t stop there knowing that the total point-difference from their games against Hapoel might matter in a possible standings tie when the Top 16 stage is over.