Enisey Russia defeated Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus at home, 80-68 (14-14, 22-15, 21-16, 23-23).
Top Scorers
Enisey: D’Angelo Harrison (33 + 8 reb), Martins Meiers (13 + 5 reb), Denis Zakharov (12)
Tsmoki-Minsk: Vladimir Mikhailovic (19), Devon Saddler (13), Aliaksei Trastsinetski (12 + 6 reb)
Story
Early on, this was a competitive, low-scoring affair. Both teams struggled on offense, combining for 28 points in the 1st quarter, 14-14.
Harrison opened the 2nd quarter with a couple 3-pointers. Minsk stayed close behind 12 first-half points from Mikhailovic. Enisey, however, got the final word in the half. Mitusov’s free throws and Harrison’s relentless attack gave Krasnoyarsk the 36-29 lead at halftime.
After the break, Krasnoyarsk continued to add to its lead. The Siberians started knocking down 3-pointers, scoring in transition and attacking the paint. Even Mikhailovic’s hot shooting wasn’t enough as Minsk fell behind by 12, 57-45.
The visitors trimmed the deficit to seven to start the 4th quarter. But the outcome was never really in doubt. Enisey’s aggressive defense and several more buckets from Harrison put the home team back on top by 15, 67-52. Minsk never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as Enisey picked up a valuable road win.
The victory helps Enisey improve to 8-14 and pass VEF in the standings. The Siberians will need some help from Kalev and Avtodor, but could still conceivably reach the postseason with a strong finish.
Tsmoki-Minsk remains in last place with a 3-19 record.
Star
D’Angelo Harrison was the star again for Enisey. The guard scored a career-high 33 points and posted a 35 efficiency rating. He also had eight rebounds and three assists.
Stat
7 – Enisey won its 7th-straight game vs. Tsmoki-Minsk.
Quotes
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov: “It was obvious early on that we weren’t following the plan. That’s partly because the team from Minsk is in last place. You can’t hide it and we wanted to score points instead of play as a team. It became clear that the game would be tough and we needed to win regardless of what was working or not. In the 4th quarter, our offense started clicking. We played poorly, I’ll be honest. But thanks to the bench and Mitusov and Lukashov’s contributions, as well as D’Angelo, we were able to control the situation and win.”
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Rostislav Vergun: “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to play consistently for the entire game. Our fouls, misses and mistakes cost us dearly. Unfortunately, we aren’t getting what we expect from all of the players and it’s very difficult to win in the VTB United League in those conditions.”
Photos
