Samara defeated Runa in Moscow – 81:67 (24:17, 22:18, 20:17, 15:15).
Game progress
Samara organized an aggressive defense at the start of the game, which the hosts were not ready for – after several steals and an 11:3 run, Erturul Erdogan was forced to take a timeout. After that, the Vikings shifted focus from long-range shots to drives in the paint, which rebooted the Moscow team offense. Alex Tyus and Juwan Morgan opened up the guests defense and Nikola Ivanovic scored 11 points. But Runa was unable to stop the opponent bigmen. Aleksandr Gudumak had an efficient stretch with 6 points in a row, and James Thompson dominated in the paint and made a double-double (13 points + 10 rebounds) by the end of the first half. Drazen Anzulovic team had a double-digit lead by the halftime – 46:35.
At the beginning of the second half, the Vikings attempted a comeback. Runa was able to limited Thompson in defense, but the Volga team rebuilt the offense, focusing on mid-range and long-range shots. After making 4 three-pointers, the guests pushed the ead to 16. The hosts had trouble with making shots – all 7 long-range shots in the second half were missed. On top of that, Ilia Popov got fouled out, and Artem Komissarov finished the game with 4 fouls. All of this limited the hosts defense, not allowing them to play tight. Samara continued to score and confidently got the win.
X-factor
Samara stayed focused in defense throughout the game, making 14 steals (compared to Runa 8). The guests also allowed the Vikings to make only 12% othree-pointers, while Sarama made 37%.
Fact
James Thompson had 15 points and 10 rebounds. This double-double was the 10th of the seasonand helped the American bigman to top the League by this stat.
Leaders
Runa: Juwan Morgan (18 + 7 rebounds), Nikola Ivanovic (15), Alex Tyus (11 + 5 rebounds).
Samara: James Thompson (15 + 10 rebounds), Javontae Hawkins (13), Rade Zagorac (11), Aleksandr Gudumak (11), Hayden Dalton (10 + 7 rebounds).
What’s next
Runa (14-22): April 4 on the road versus Astana
Samara (20-16): April 4 at home against MBA.
