Enisey beat Avtodor on their homecourt – 85:78 (20:17, 24:19, 22:24, 19:18).
Top scorers:
Enisey: Tomislav Zubcic (15+5 rebounds), Darius Morris (14+5 assists), Ilia Popov (12+7 rebounds), Denis Zakharov (11), Davion Berry (10).
Avtodor: Markel Starks (21), Orlando Johnson (16), Nikita Mikhailovskii (14), Mouhammadou Jaiteh (13+9 rebounds), Elgin Cook (10+6 rebounds).
Story
Tight defence and accurate shots by Ilia Popov and Tomislav Zubcic helped Krasnoyarsk take the lead on the start of the game – 7:0. But they couldn’t manage to keep it. Avtodor took its chance and got back in the game via Starks, Mikhailovskii and Jaiteh’s efforts. Guests cut Enisey’s lead to a one shot differential – 17:20.
In the second quarter the hosts took 2 tries to make run. First try was stopped but the second Enisey’s run was more successful. Popov, Zakharov and Morris’s points in the end of the half helped Krasnoyarsk take an 8-point lead – 44:36.
Key moment
In the beginning of the fourth Starks hit the three and cut the differential to the minimum – 65:66. Nervous tight game lasted all the final quarter long and led to a clutch. One minute before the buzzer Avtodor, lacking 3 points to tie the game just stormed opponent’s basket. However, Starks, Johnson and Berzin’s tries weren’t a success. The game turned to intentional fouls strategy. Berry and Zakharov hit 6 of 8 free throws, which guaranteed Enisey’s win.
Hero
Tomislav Zubcic proved that he is the sharpest shooter on Enisey’s roster. He was the top scorer in his team. Tomislav scored 15 points and collected 5 rebounds.
Stat
3 – this is Enisey’s third win of the season. This is franchise-high start of the season for Krasnoyrsk (3-1 record) while Avtodor lost the third game in a row.
Comments
Enisey’s head coach Drazen Anzulovic:
– This is very important win for us that let us feel comfortable! It’s hard to play against such teams as Avtodor as they have many individually skilled players. I’m upset by our defence and convinced that we can play much better.
Avtodor’s head coach Evgenii Pashutin:
– We expected this game to be tough. Enisey is in good shape, they have a perfect season start. Their team is well-balanced but there also 2 leaders – Zubcic and Berry. In the end of the game we weren’t good on the boards and missed few shots – our inexpirience made its voice heard. Nevertheless, I can’t blame my team of anything, we are becoming better from game to game and will progress more.
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