UNICS defeated Avtodor at home, 95-83 (22-20, 28-25, 20-18, 25-20).
Top Scorers
UNICS: Artsiom Parakhouski (30+10 reb+3 blk), Keith Langford (23), Quino Colom (20+13 ast)
Avtodor: Vince Hunter (22+10 reb), Nick Minnerath (16+7 reb), Evgeny Kolesnikov (14+6 reb), Josh Adams (13+8 ast)
Intro
UNICS needed to bounce back from last week’s loss to Zenit. Entering the game with a 12-8 record, Kazan’s lead on 6th-place VEF had shrunk to 1.5 games.
Avtodor, meanwhile, is running out of time to make the playoffs. Trailing 8th place by two games, Saratov needs every win it can get.
For 20 minutes, Avtodor gave the home team everything it could handle, leading 45-44 late in the 2nd quarter on an Alan Makiev layup.
Vince Hunter led the way for the visitors, scoring a team-high 22 points and helping counteract a monster game from Artsiom Parakhouski (30 points, 10 rebounds).
Turning Point
Despite a gutsy performance, Avtodor eventually faltered. Trailing by as much as 12 in the 3rd quarter, Saratov was able to get within five early in the 4th.
But that would be it. UNICS went on a 12-0 run, sandwiched by Quino Colom three-point possessions. Leading by 17 with a little more than five minutes remaining, Kazan cruised to victory in the front of the home fans to improve to 13-8. Avtodor drops to 6-13, tied for 9th place with Nizhny Novgorod.
Star
Artsiom Parakhouski. Kazan’s Belarusian big man went off for 30 points, 10 rebounds along with three blocks and a 40 efficiency rating. Incredibly, he shot 88% from the field (15-17) without a single free throw or 3-pointer.
Quotes
UNICS head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
– Psychologically, we really needed a win today. We came together, moved the ball and got a lot of assists. Quino Colom had 13 on his own. When we play like this, it’s a totally different picture. We hit our shots and get the big men involved. They are really good; we can use them even more. The guys followed the plan today. Artsiom Parakhouski grabbed 10 rebounds and was very effective inside. Everyone else deserves credit, too. Everyone played tough. Everyone who played wasn’t afraid to foul or be physical.
Of course, Nick Minnerath is a great shooter, someone who can score 30, but Pavel Antipov and Marko Banic played solid defense and kept him under control. Our goal was to limit Saratov’s fast breaks. I think we still need to work on our defense. Giving up 83 points is a lot.
Avtodor head coach Vladimir Antsiferov:
– This was a tough game. It meant a lot to us and our opponent. They guys were very motivated. You could see for yourselves how everyone competed. Unfortunately, we were inconsistent and had a lot of ups and downs. At times, we got back in the game, but then fatigue and loss of concentration led to UNICS surging in front. We tried to catch up, but it didn’t work. We didn’t even hit our easy shots and our opponent scored a lot around the rim, where we failed to even foul at times. In addition, we were completely outrebounded, which ultimately led to a defeat.
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Up Next
UNICS: April 3 at VEF
Avtodor: April 3 at Lokomotiv-Kuban
