Samara beat MINSK in Belarus – 96:86 (18:21, 25:13, 12:19, 41:33).
Game progress
The game was equal at the start. Good defense, as well as Jovan Sljivancanin activity helped the hosts win the opening quarter. However, Samara showed the desire to win the game. Mikhail Kulagin made 3 three-pointers in a row and helped to make a 9:2 run. Another Samara three-pointer made the guests lead double-digit for the first time in the game – 38:28.
But MINSK was in no hurry to give up: at the beginning of the second half, Daniil Barysevich and Jakob Cebasek helped to make a comeback. Before the decisive quarter, the difference was reduced to a minimum – 55:53.
Key moment
Although the guests managed to regain a double-digit lead, the hosts didn’t stop fighting. In the final quarter, the teams seemed to forget about defense, setting up a spectacular and effective shootout. Cebasek and Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson repeatedly made long-range shots and helped MINSK to stay in the game.
With a minute left in the game, the hosts had a 6-point deficit, but an unsportsmanlike foul by Benjamin-Pavel Dudu and Rade Zagorac three-pointer brought the game to an end. The Volga team beat MINSK for the fourth time in the season and continue the battle with Uralmash for the top spot in the Group B.
X-factor
After an extremely disappointing third quarter, in which Samara scored only 12 points, the guests offense showed full force in the fourth quarter – 41 points scored and only 3 of 17 missed shots. 6 Samara players scored 10 or more points.
Fact
Samara 96 points are the team’s second-high this season. The season-high (104 points) was achieved against UNICS.
74 total points in the quarter – a repeat of the all-time high, which was set in the game Avtodor – Kalev in 2018.
Samara 41 points in a quarter – repeating the all-time high, which was set by Lokomotiv Kuban against Vita in 2016.
Leaders
MINSK: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson (23), Jakob Cebasek (14 + 5 rebounds), Grigory Motovilov (13), Jovan Sljivancanin (13 + 8 rebounds), Zach Smith (8 + 7 rebounds)
Samara: Hayden Dalton (20), Justin Roberson (19 + 4 steals), James Thompson (15 + 10 rebounds), Nikola Rebic (14 + 6 assists), Mikhail Kulagin (11), Rade Zagorac (11).
What’s next
MINSK (0-32): March 20 on the road versus Pari Nizhny Novgorod
Samara (18-14): March 21 on the road against Avtodor.
