Lokomotiv Kuban defeated Avtodor on the road – 78:76 (19:18, 22:15, 13:19, 24:24).
Game progress
The hosts started the game actively, immediately establishing the advantage in rebounds and field goal attempts. The Saratov team missed the opportunity to take the lead due to very tight defense, constantly sending the opponents to the free throw line.
The Krasnodar team began to pick up pace in the second quarter. Loko received significant help from the bench from Jeremiah Martin and Vsevolod Ishchenko and had an 8-point lead by halftime.
Loko started the second half with the starting five, and the guests offense fell apart. For almost 8 minutes, only Patrick Miller scored, picking up 7 points during that stretch. The hosts took advantage of the opportunity to tie the score, but Ishchenko helped Krasnodar team to maintain the lead at the end.
Key moment
Avtodor spent most of the final quarter playing catch-up, but managed to take the lead. The game went into clutch, in which Vince Hunter shined. The bigman took offensive rebound and scored the decisive 2 points in the final seconds.
The Saratov team did not have enough time to respond.
X-factor
Loko got 35 points from its bench, while Avtodor’s bench contributed 23.
Jeremiah Martin shared the status of the most effective player (28) of the game with Hunter. He had 21 points (7 of 14 field-goals made, 2 of 3 three-pointers made) and 7 rebounds in 25.4 minutes.
Vsevolod Ishchenko scored 11 points at key moments of the game, making 2 of 2 two-pointers and 2 of 3 three-pointers.
Facts
Igor Volkhin recorded his first double-double in the VTB League. The forward had 17 points and 10 rebounds (career-high in the League).
B.J. Johnson and Aleksandr Evseev each had 3 blocks. Johnson repeated his season-high. For Evseev, this is the career-high.
The rivalry history score is 23-4, Loko leads. The last time Saratov team beat Lokomotiv Kuban in November 2020.
Leaders
Avtodor: Alen Hadzibegovic (22 + 9 rebounds), Igor Volkhin (17 + 10 rebounds), Malik Newman (13), Grigory Motovilov (12 + 7 assists)
Lokomotiv Kuban: Jeremiah Martin (21 + 7 rebounds), Patrick Miller (20 + 5 assists), Vince Hunter (17), Vsevolod Ishchenko (11)
What’s next
Avtodor: February 8 on the road versus CSKA
Lokomotiv Kuban: February 4 on the road against Pari Nizhny Novgorod.
