Zenit defeated UNICS on the road, 109-84 (27-17, 27-24, 25-28, 30-15).
Top Scorers
UNICS: Quino Colom (25+9 ast), Artsiom Parakhouski (14), Pavel Antipov (12+9 reb)
Zenit: Sergey Karasev (26), Evgeny Valiev (15+6 reb), Ryan Toolson (14), Stefan Markovic (12+7 reb+5 ast)
Build-Up
Zenit came into the contest riding a nine-game winning streak in the League. With UNICS missing superstar guard Keith Langford, the visitors established control early, surging to a 27-17 lead in the 1st quarter.
Kyle Landry and Stefan Markovic did most of the damage in the opening period before passing the torch to Sergey Karasev. The Zenit swingman converted a four-point play, helping his team shoot 5-8 from downtown in the first half.
At the other end, Quino Colom did everything he could to keep UNICS in the game, but the home team still trailed by 13 at halftime, 54-41.
Turning Point
Colom got UNICS within four points during the 3rd quarter, but Karasev wasn’t done. The Russian national team forward sparked a 10-0 run, putting the visitors in control once again.
Down the stretch, UNICS simply ran out of steam, giving up 30 points in the final period to lose by 25. St. Petersburg improves to 16-3, UNICS drops to 12-8.
Star
Sergey Karasev. He stayed hot for 40 minutes, finishing with a game-high 26 points.
Stat
10 – Zenit has won 10 in a row and has yet to lose in 2017. Among the team’s victims during the streak? Khimki, CSKA and UNICS.
Up Next
UNICS: March 27 vs. Avtodor
Zenit: March 18 vs. Parma
