Sergey Karasev performance helped Zenit to beat Samara

Sergey Karasev performance helped Zenit to beat Samara

Zenit beat Samara on the road – 106:73 (30:27, 25:14, 23:12, 28:20).

Game progress

Both teams got a productive start with 32 points combined in the first 5 minutes. Zenit took the lead with 15 points by Sergey Karasev, Mikhail Kulagin and Ilia Popov helped the Volga team keep the difference close enough. After a long-range buzzer-beater by Ivan Pynko, the guests score deficit was only 3 points – 30:27. But at the start of the second quarter, Samara offense stopped working. The St. Petersburg team took advantage of the opponent downgrade and organized a 16:6 run and secured double-digit lead for the first time in the game. The first half ended with 14-point differential and Zenit lead – 55:41.

Key moment

The hosts offensive difficulties continued in the second half. For 7 minutes, Samara couldn’t make a shot, while the St. Petersburg team built up a lead that reached 25 points by the end of the third quarter. Kulagin tried to bring his team back into the game with long-range shots, but the Volga team had no energy left for another comeback attempt. Xavier Pascual let young players into the game, the ball movement was saved and Zenit got confident win.

X-factor

An important reason for Zenit win was ball movement. The St. Petersburg team made 30 assists (against 10 by the opponent).

Facts

Sergey Karasev scored season-high 27 points. The Russian forward broke his previous high record (14 points) in the first 5 minutes of the game. Zenit captain also became the first player in team history to score 3,000 points.

Xavier Pascual team set season-high 30 assists.

Vince Hunter scored 15 points and got 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

Leaders

Samara: Mikhail Kulagin (22), Ilia Popov (11 + 5 rebounds), Ivan Pynko (11), Anton Kardanakhishvili (10).

Zenit: Sergey Karasev (27), Vince Hunter (15 + 12 rebounds + 6 assists), Egor Ryzhov (15), Trent Frazier (13 + 6 assists), Andrey Vorontsevich (12), Aleksandr Scherbenev (10 + 9 assists + 5 rebounds).

What’s next

Samara: January 29 on the road versus Astana

Zenit: January 28 at home against MBA-MAI.