Nizhny Novgorod Russia defeated Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus on the road, 87-78 (18-19, 19-21, 27-19, 23-19).
Top Scorers
Tsmoki-Minsk: D.J. Shelton (23 + 5 reb), Stefan Moody (16), Darrin Govens (14)
Nizhny Novgorod: Kendrick Perry (16 + 5 ast + 3 stl), Rod Odom (15 + 6 reb), Evgeny Baburin (12), Ivan Strebkov (11)
Story
Nizhny Novgorod picked up its first win of the season at Tsmoki’s expense, fueled by a 27-point 3rd quarter and 53% shooting from beyond the arc.
Five players scored in double digits for the visitors, who trailed by three at halftime, 40-37, before seizing control in the 3rd quarter.
The turning point came midway through the period. With Tsmoki-Minsk leading 55-51, the visitors went on a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of triples from Russian guard Evgeny Baburin.
Nizhny Novgorod led the rest of the way, icing the win at the free-throw line in the final minutes.
After losing Maxim Grigoryev and Pavel Antipov to season-ending injuries and suffering a blowout defeat to Zielona Gora to begin the campaign, Nizhny has looked much improved over the past two games. Zoran Lukic’s men took CSKA to the wire in Moscow, before breaking through in Minsk with a sharp team effort.
Tsmoki, on the other hand, is staring at an 0-3 record, with all three defeats coming at home to fellow playoff hopefuls. Minsk has one last chance next Sunday vs. Enisey before heading out on the road.
Stat
10-19 – The visitors shot 53% from beyond the arc, led by Baburin’s 4-6 performance. Tsmoki, on the other hand, went 7-25 from downtown.
Quotes
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Aliaksandr Krutsikau: “Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep up in the second half. Dragicevic scored eight during that stretch and Baburin played extremely well, knocking down an important 3-pointer. I think the key factor was our lack of communication on offense. Plus, turnovers at half-court allowed our opponent to score easy points in transition. I don’t like how were competing on the glass and we still have issues on defense.”
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic: “We have a lot of young players on our roster, who haven’t played at a high level. But one win changes a lot. Today, this was our win. We were fresh off the plane, traveling here from Poland.
Unfortunately, in the first half we didn’t have the right approach. I don’t want to say we weren’t properly motivated. But we didn’t execute and were too relaxed in the first half. It’s good we managed to right the ship before halftime. During the second half, our attitude and approach to our work was totally different. In the end, we picked up a win, which is very important for us.”
Photos
Up Next
Tsmoki-Minsk: October 27 home vs. Enisey
Nizhny Novgorod: October 27 home vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban
