UNICS Russia defeated VEF Latvia on the road, 81-69 (16-16, 24-16, 24-16, 17-21).
Top Scorers
VEF: Alex Perez (18 + 6 ast), Kaspars Vecvagars (13), Artis Ate (11)
UNICS: Stephane Lasme (17 + 5 reb), Jamar Smith (17), Maurice Ndour (11 + 5 reb)
Story
UNICS held VEF to 39% shooting and only committed nine turnovers on the road in an 81-69 win on Sunday.
Stephane Lasme and Jamar Smith each scored 17 points for the visitors, who broke open a tie game in the 2nd quarter to lead by eight at halftime and 16 entering the 4th.
Alex Perez led VEF with 18 points and six assists. The home team matched UNICS in the 1st quarter, 16-16, and led briefly in the 2nd quarter on an Ilya Gromovs dunk, 20-18.
But UNICS never relented on the defensive end, giving up 16 points in each of the first three periods to build an insurmountable lead.
Kristaps Vecvagars pulled VEF within nine points, 76-69, with 1:30 remaining, but Maurice Ndour sealed Kazan’s win with a three-point play on the next possession.
UNICS improves to 10-1, VEF falls to 1-10.
Stat
40 of 81 – number of points scored by UNICS on jumpers (six 3-pointers and 11 mid-range).
Up Next
VEF: January 28 home vs. Tsmoki-Minsk
UNICS: January 28 home vs. PARMA
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