By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In the VTB League “Game of the Week, a key match for the playoffs race, Nizhny Novgorod absolutely crushed Avtodor Saratov 110 – 68 at home, claiming its fourth victory of the season and the ninth spot in the standings.
This gives them an advantage over their opponents that have the same record but are in the 10th place of the classification. Avtodor now has a mountain to climb in order to make it to the playoffs.
Five players from coach Stalberg’s squad scored in double figures, with Petr Gubanov dropping 24 and Dijon Thompson 22 plus pinching 7 rebounds and 5 assists in just his second VTB match after he returned to the team in the mid of January.
DeAndre Kane registered a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds to go with his 5 assists while Ivan Strebkov had 17 points and dished out 5 dimes.
After a balanced first quarter (23-20), Avtodor Saratov players fell way behind and found themselves trailing 53 – 34 at halftime. Not only did they fail to recover but also lacked the tools to prevent a blowout, apart from Nick Minnerath’s (24 points) and Vine Hunter’s (14 points, 6 rebounds) action.